Fire's Angel
by ManaMila
Summary: Bella's involved in a tragic accident that leaves her homeless and orphaned. Years later she moves to Forks, a small town in Washington and meets a certain Cullen who changes her life. Femslah. T for now.
1. Prolog

**Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. They belong to Stephanie Meyer. I, however, do own the plot of this story. **

There's fire everywhere. The whole house is caught on fire. I don't know where my parents are. I have no idea. I'm trapped in my room, trying to find a way out. There is none. I'm trapped, and I'm going to die. I can hear people screaming and crying. Someone's yelling my name, but I can't tell who it is. There's banging and grumbling all around me. I fall to the floor waiting to die. _Please let me go quickly. Please, please, please._

Something cool surrounds me. It feels like a pair of arms, but I can't be certain. I look up into the face of an angel. "It's going to be alright," she says to me. And I believe her. I don't know why, especially when I'm surrounded by nothing but fire, but I do.

The next thing I know, I'm outside of the city. There's an ambulance blaring next to me, and my angel's gone. One of the medic crew sees me and comes over to me with an air mask. "We've got a little girl over here!" he yells to his team. "What's your name, sweetie?" he then asks me. I'm still in shock, though. I don't remember my name. "Can you tell me? We need to know who you are."

Finally, I whisper out in a scratchy voice, "Isabella Swan."


	2. A Chance Encounter

**A/N: Again, I do not own these lovely characters. Ms. Stephanie Meyer does. So don't hate.**

"Isabella Swan? _The_ Isabella Swan?" Oh boy. Here we go again.

"Yes, sir. Isabella Swan," I responded as calmly as I could. He gawked at me for what seemed like hours. I could feel the rest of the class staring at me even though my back was facing them. This always seemed to happen, no matter where I went. All because I was the only survivor of that stupid fire.

Mr. Banner finally snapped out of his trance and realized that he should let me sit down. He told me to take one of the two empty seats in class, which just happened to be right next to each other… in the back of the class. That's normally fine. I like sitting in the back. But having to walk back there with a class-full of students watching your every move was a little unnerving.

I tried to avoid any eye contact as I walked to my seat. Easier said than done. But, I made it there in one piece without falling; an extreme accomplishment for me.

I took my seat and put my head down on my arms. _That wasn't too bad_, I thought to myself. Just then, another student hurried through the door, searching through her bag that was hanging off of her arm. _I so would have tripped if I tried that_. I began to look away and back to the desk when she looked up. I knew her. I knew I knew her.

Our eyes connected and a light of recognition flashed across her features. I held her gaze for a moment more until she looked away and back to the teacher. They spoke for a minute, but I didn't hear any of it. I was too distracted.

I knew I knew her from somewhere. Her face just looked so familiar. It was perfect. Perfect and unforgettable. She had incredibly pale skin and almost back hair. The contrast was drastic, but it looked perfect on her. Red, pouty lips and a small nose adorned her face. And those eyes; those perfect, golden eyes… I remembered looking into them before. I just couldn't remember where.

The girl turned to walk to her seat after she finished talking with Mr. Banner. And it was in that moment that I realized the seat next to me must belong to her. It was, after all, the only empty seat left in class. As she walked toward me, my eyes were drawn to her continuously. I tried to look away, but couldn't. She was just looked so familiar. Not to mention beautiful. Any sane person would be attracted to her.

I tried with all my might not to stare at her as she walked toward me and finally took her seat just a foot from me. She just moved so perfectly, fluidly even. She was incredibly graceful in every movement.

Mr. Banner had began his lecture again as I was examining the girl next to me. She seemed to be completely collected, even though she just arrived to class late. As she pulled out her pencil and notebook, she took a steadying breath and glanced over at me. That same look of recognition flashed across her features, but disappeared just as fast as it appeared.

She seemed to make a decision in that moment to say something, but the class suddenly erupted into motion. Everyone began walking to the side of the classroom to get supplies.

"I guess we had better go get our supplies then," she said to me with the most beautiful voice that I have ever heard. Apparently Mr. Banner had assigned an experiment of some kind to the class to do this period. The girl rose and began to walk to where the rest of the class was gathered, though she seemed to stay a distance away until the crowd had dissipated. I stood and walked over to her.

"So I guess we're partners," I said to her trying to strike up a conversation as we waited for our turn to get supplies.

"Looks that way," she replied with a sly grin. "You seemed distracted earlier, though. Did you hear what we're supposed to be doing?"

"Uhm… no, can't say that I did. Could you explain?" I answered shyly. I hadn't realized that she noticed me watching her.

She explained to me what we were supposed to be doing as she gathered up our supplies, occasionally passing me the odd piece of equipment that she thought I could carry back to our table. We set our equipment down on our lab table and got to work.

I realized that if I wanted to have a conversation about something other than class with this girl, I would have to be the first to begin it.

"I never did get your name, new girl." Or maybe not.

"I think 'new girl' works pretty well. It flows nicely, don't you think?" Oh what a charmer I am. _That was a completely lame joke, Bella_, I chastised myself.

"Well if that's what you'd like to be called, then okay," she laughed. Even her laugh was beautiful. I think I could probably die happy now. "So are you actually going to tell me your name, or shall you remain nameless to me?" She joked.

"I guess I can give you my name. But it seems so much more mysterious with you not knowing." I winked at her. _Am I flirting with her?_ "Isabella Swan, at your service. But you can just call me Bella."

"Well, Isabella Swan, A.K.A. Bella, I'm Alice Cullen. Nice to make your acquaintance." She smiled her breathtaking smile at me and held out her hand. I shook it quickly, not wanting to insult her in any way. Her hand was incredibly cold; colder than any other that I've ever felt. She drew her hand away rather quickly and got back to work. "We may want to finish this before class is over. Mr. Banner doesn't like to be kept after class for any reason."

And with that we began to work again. Luckily, Alice seemed to know what she was doing because I was no help at all. Not that I didn't understand. I just couldn't concentrate on the work with her standing next to me. Of one thing I was absolutely certain. I knew Alice Cullen from somewhere, and I would figure out from where.

**A/N: So there you have it. The first real chapter to this thing. Let me know if you like it and want me to continue. And to do that, you should comment and the like. Thanks much. ^-^**


	3. A Long First Day

**A/N: Thanks for all of the feedback, everyone. You're all great. ^-^ I was incredibly surprised by all of the positive comments. So thank you all. If you have any questions/criticism/advice, I would gladly take it all. If I don't get back to you personally, I'm sorry, but this will have to do. **

**Just to reiterate myself, the characters and original plot of Twilight do not belong to me, but rather the famous Ms. Stephanie Meyer. The plot of this specific story does belong to me, though.**

**And now, on to the next chapter.**

The rest of class passed by without anything too drastic happening. Alice and I finished our assignment with plenty of time left in class to get to know each other. Apparently she has three brothers and a sister, though they were all adopted. They've travelled a lot, never staying in one place for more than a couple of years because they "get bored easily". Her words, not mine.

"Yeah, I don't think that we've stayed in one place more than a few years since I've joined this family, to be honest. Our father moves a lot because of his work. A lot of hospitals want his expertise in the field," she explained to me after I looked at her questionably.

Alice seemed to notice that I didn't like talking a lot about my past because she bypassed all questions alluding to it. Of this I was grateful. I was actually quite sad when I heard the bell ring, signaling the end of class.

"What's your schedule like? We may have more classes together," Alice commented as she walked with me to the door. She seemed to notice right away that I didn't want to part with her, and took it upon herself to make sure that I had a walking buddy to my next class.

"Uhm… Looks like I have math next. Then lunch followed by a free period and then gym," I answered after pulling the already torn schedule out of my bag.

"Oh that's great! So we have math and free period together. And of course lunch, which you probably already knew." She smiled widely at me as if this news made her day. I couldn't help but smile in return.

I hadn't noticed that we had stopped until someone ran into my backpack, effectively forcing it off of my shoulder and onto the floor. I stumbled forward trying to regain my balance before looking down at the mess that had once been the contents of my bag. "Lovely," I said more to myself than to anyone else. As I was bending down to start cleaning it all up, Alice began to yelled at the person that had run into me.

"Hey, you! You just ran into my friend here. Why don't you help her clean up her things?" I glanced up at her completely surprised that she would ever yell. She had a hard look set in her eyes as she glared at the boy that had run into me. He walked back swiftly to help clean up my things. With our combined efforts, everything that had fallen was quickly put back into my bag. "You may want to apologize," Alice said to the boy as he stood back up to leave. He quickly mumbled out an apology, more out of fear of what Alice would do if he didn't than anything else.

"You didn't need to do that, Alice," I told her as the boy scurried away quickly back down the hall. I was still surprised that he turned back around to help me at all.

"No, I shouldn't have needed to. He should have stopped to help on his own, but boys these days are self-centered and inconsiderate." She seemed to notice that she was rambling and quickly turned back to smile at me again. "Shall we continue to class?" She grabbed my hand and turned to walk down the hall after I nodded in agreement.

We made it to Math with only a moment to spare. The bell rang as soon as we walked through the door. Alice had let go of my hand by then and was walking toward her desk, leaving me to talk with the teacher. She seemed nice enough, and tried not to stare. After she signed my note, I quickly made my way to the empty seat next to Alice, preparing myself for another uneventful class.

Much like Science, I couldn't concentrate on anything the teacher was saying. But I did find out that Alice likes to draw, and suffice it to say she's amazing. Two pages were filled in her notebook by the end of class with her sketches. I wanted to let her know that I thought she was incredibly talented, but felt that saying that would be awkward. Instead I just smiled at her after she put her book back in her bag. "Ready to go?"

I continued to look at her for a moment more, not realizing that she asked me a question, but eventually answered with a quiet "Yeah".

The walk to lunch was much less eventful than that to Math. We chatted along the way, talking about random things just trying to get to know each other better. It felt like I couldn't learn enough about this Alice Cullen, and though she was very mysterious about details in her life, she did answer most of my questions. It only seemed fair that I answered some of hers as well. But I could do that later.

When Alice continued to follow me to an empty table I was stunned. "You don't want to sit with your family?" Alice looked over her shoulder to a table which I could only assume belonged to her siblings. Four amazingly beautiful people sat there, watching us closely. It was unnerving to say the least.

"No, I don't believe so. But, if you will excuse me for a second, I would like to go speak to them about something of importance." And with that she was walking toward their table.

All but two of her siblings turned to watch Alice walk to them. The blonde girl and bronze haired boy continued to glare at me. Alice's posture had stiffened considerably by the time she got to their table. The big guy grinned at her and seemed to be completely at ease, which was calming. But Alice still looked tense. Her other brother didn't say a word, but continued to listen to what Alice had to say. He seemed to be in a lot of pain as he sat there. Finally the bronze hair boy looked at Alice with a furrowed brow. I couldn't tell what he was saying, but he did not look pleased.

I continued to watch this exchange, enthralled by the five figures speaking across the room. Just as I was about to look away, the Alice's sister stood up and threw her hands up in exasperation, knocking her chair over in the process. This caused the entire student body to turn and watch the exchange as well. The girl blatantly pointed at me, arguing angrily with Alice. Apparently she didn't get the rise out of Alice that she wanted. Alice just stood there with a set face staring back at her sister until she finished her rant.

I don't know what else happened in the lunchroom that day. All I know is that I didn't want to be the cause of such drama. So I did the only thing that I knew to do. I grabbed my lunch tray and walked toward the door. When I passed a trash can, I threw out what was left of my food and continued out the door. I didn't know where I was headed, but I knew anywhere would be better than in that room full of tension, especially if it was caused by me. And I did notice the stares of the students as I made my way out of the cafeteria. I also heard the whispers.

"Did that girl cause a fight with the Cullens?"

"That's not just any girl. That Isabella Swan."

"_The_ Isabella Swan?"

More whispers like that followed me out of the cafeteria. I think that I heard Alice call my name, but I couldn't be certain. I didn't stop walking until I made it out to my truck. And I just sat there. Waiting for lunch and my free period to end.

The silence in my car was welcomed, but it ended all too soon. Lunch ended quickly as did my free period, and I didn't want to miss a class on my first day. So I dragged myself back into the school toward where I thought the gym was. Luckily, or unfortunately, a boy came up to me and asked if I needed help finding my way around.

"If you could point me in the direction of the gym, that would be great," I answered him, hoping that he'd just give me directions and leave me be. But, he apparently had other plans.

"I can walk you there. It's on my way to class anyway. I'm Mike Newton, by the way. And you're Isabella Swan, right?"

"Yeah, that's me. Bella, though. And thanks, but you don't have to walk me the entire way there." Mike looked a little dejected at this, but quickly perked up again.

"It's really no problem, Bella. I'd love to walk with you. You looked lonely, anyway." It looked like I wouldn't get rid of him easily.

"Alright, Mike. But if you're late, don't blame me." We walked the rest of the way to class, Mike keeping a steady flow of word spew directed at me. It was easy talking to him, though. All I had to do was nod my head when appropriate.

When we finally got to the gym, Mike turned to me with a slight frown. "I guess I'll talk to you later then," he said slowly, but grinned a cheeky grin at me before he continued. "Maybe we could go out some time. Get to know each other better." Well, no one can say he isn't a persistent guy.

"Yeah, we'll see about that. But we'll talk later." I tried to be as nice as possible, but it was hard considering he was moving closer and closer to me. I quickly turned and walked into the girls' locker room before he could say anything else, breathing a sigh of relief that I finally escaped him.

Gym went by without incident. I didn't have to participate today because it was my first day, thank God. I don't think it would have been a great first impression if I had to go to the emergency room after injuring myself and countless others.

I quickly walked back out to my truck after class. I didn't really want to talk with anyone else today. Going back to my house and relaxing sounded like the best plan to me. Luckily I made it there without drawing too much attention to myself.

The drive back to my house was consumed with thoughts of Alice. I still felt bad about leaving her in lunch today, but I thought it was for the best. I could explain that to her tomorrow. Ugh... tomorrow.

**A/N: So that's it for this chapter. Again, thank you all for your input. If you could keep letting me know what you think, that would be fantastic. I'll try to update this as fast as possible, so keep an eye out for it. Till next time! ^-^**


	4. Dream's Awakening

**A/N: Thanks to all of you who have added this to your favorites and your story alert list. I love getting e-mails saying that someone else has added it. It's fantastic. And all of your comments make me smile. So please keep that up and I'll keep writing.**

**As I've said before, the characters in this story belong to the creative Stephanie Meyer, not me. The plot, however, does belong to me. So please don't steal it. **

**And now, on to the continuation of Fire's Angel…**

I was completely ready to just fall into my bed when I got home. The day had been a tiring one, and I didn't want to mess with anything else but sleep. Unfortunately, the outside world had other plans. I noticed the phone ringing before I had even opened the front door. Quickly and clumsily, I unlocked it and made my way down the hall to the phone that I had set up in the living room.

"Hello…?" I welcomed, more of a question than a statement.

"Hey Bells! I was starting to worry that you didn't want to talk to me." I smiled at my best friend's voice. Jacob was always a welcomed person in my house, on the phone or otherwise. He was my one constant that I could always rely on.

"Hey Jake. I just got home from school, actually. Trying to be a good kid living on her own and all that, ya know?" I was incredibly excited to hear from Jake, and I think he could tell by my tone.

"Oh, I know what you mean. I just wanted to make sure that you got moved in all right in that new place of yours. And make sure that you haven't gotten into any trouble." I sighed into the receiver. He was such a worrier when it came to me. I had no doubt in my mind that he would beat up anyone that even looked at me wrong.

"Not really trouble, no. But I'm moved in decently enough. I still have a few boxes to unpack, but other than that…" Jake was apparently caught up on my first comment, because he interrupted me then.

"What kind of 'not really trouble' are we talking about, Bella? Did someone hurt you?" I knew then that I wouldn't be able to go back now that I said that. Stupid slip up on my part. So I delved into the story of my first day at Forks High. When I mentioned Alice, Jake seemed to tense up. "Do you mean Alice Cullen?"

"Yeah, why? Is there something wrong with her?"

"Not really… just stay away from that family, Bells. They can get you into some serious trouble if you're not careful. They don't have a good reputation out here on the Res." This new information made me slightly defensive. I'm not sure why, but I felt the need to defend Alice to my best friend.

"What do you mean trouble? Alice was nothing but nice to me all day."

"I don't know, Bella. I just know what I've been told, and that's that the Cullen's are forbidden to come on our land. I don't know what they did or who they are, but I have a bad feeling about you getting to know them better." At least he wasn't being a complete jerk about it. I could tell that his voice was strained, though. He was trying not sound too frustrated.

"Alright, Jake. I'll keep that in mind," and with that we moved on to lighter topics. Apparently there's going to be a bonfire that weekend over on the reservation. Jake had invited me to it and I eagerly agreed knowing that I wouldn't have anything else to do socially. Once our conversation ended, I moved into the kitchen to start something for dinner. I decided that I'd have to go grocery shopping soon if I wanted to have any sort of decent meals. Sighing, I pulled out a box of cereal and some milk, making myself a bowl of Cheerios. I sat at the dining room table and pulled out my homework to get started on as I was eating. After I finished, I moved up to my room to get ready for bed. It was still kind of early, so I decided to read a bit. Apparently I was more tired than I thought though, because shortly after I got comfortable, I had fallen asleep.

_The fire's surrounding me and it's incredibly hot. I can't breathe because of all the smoke. The door is covered in fire, and I know at any minute that I'm going to be burned alive. I can hear people screaming all around me, and it sounds like the house is about to collapse. Sirens are sounding outside, but I know they won't get to me fast enough. Only seconds left…._

_And then those cold arms surround me again. I'm terrified at first because I think that I must have already died. I gasp and my lungs fill up with smoke. "It's going to be alright." _

_I realize that we're moving before I even think possible. Everything is moving around me incredibly fast. The fire's heat doesn't even reach me anymore._

_I look up into the face of the person holding me against her chest, her strong arms carrying me as if I weigh nothing. She's looking directly at me when my eyes finally reach her face. She smiles at me, and I know in that moment that everything will be all right. _

I woke in a cold sweat, slowly realizing that I was okay. Dreaming of the fire wasn't something new. I would always see the buildings collapsing around me, and hear my parents screaming. But this time it was different. Normally, I would wake up right before I was rescued. I would never see the face of the person who saved me. This time, I saw her clearly. I saw her face, and recognized it instantly.

My angel was Alice Cullen.

**A/N: So there you have it. The third chapter of Fire's Angel. Sorry it took me a bit longer to put this up than the last few. I was finishing up school here with finals and all that jazz. But, now I'm done and should be able to update quickly as long as I don't have serious writer's block. So we'll see how that goes.**

**Comments and questions are more than welcome. Thanks again for reading and I hope you guys like everything so far. **

'Till next time ^-^


	5. The Perfect Place for History

**A/N: So here's chapter 4. It's kinda scattered, and I'm sorry about that. I hope it's not too bad, though. But we'll see. Before I continue, though, I'd like to address a few of your reviews because they made me smile a lot.**

**Jezikial: Your comment made me smile/laugh **_**so**_** much. It was ridiculous, but it made me want to get this up as soon as possible. **

**Black Lithning: I honestly don't know what's going to happen yet, either. So we'll both see as the story goes on.**

**Zero-Vision: I always found that odd, too. Like, I would totally leave if someone was arguing about me. So I decided to do just that in this ff. **

**So there ya go. If you would like me to take your pennames off of here for any reason, just let me know and they'll be taken off immediately. I do plan on responding like this to more of your comments as the story progresses, so keep them coming.**

**Again, Twilight Characters and original plot do not belong to me at all, but rather to Stephanie Meyer. **

**And now, on to the main attraction:**

The more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed. In my dream, Alice looked just as she does today. But the fire happened when I was eleven. That was seven years ago. Alice would have had to age as well, meaning that my rescuer couldn't have actually been her. It's actually quite preposterous. Alice couldn't even pick me up if she tried to. She's so petite that I probably would have crushed here even when I was only eleven.

Feeling incredibly silly at my own wishful thinking, or dreaming as it were, I looked over at my clock to see what time it was. 5:56. Still early, but late enough that I wouldn't be able to get much sleep if I tried to lay back down. I decided that the best course of action would be to just get up and start getting ready for school. I realized that I had enough time to take a long, hot shower, so I did just that, taking advantage of my extra time. Half an hour later, clean, dry, and dressed, I made my way downstairs to grab something for breakfast before I headed off to school. Looking into the cabinets reminded me once again that there is no food fearie and that I still need to go grocery shopping soon. Sighing at my still nearly diminished food supply, I grabbed a granola bar and headed out to my truck.

Apparently it had rained the night before. And rain in cold weather never ends well for the uncoordinated. The walkway had patches of ice covering it all the way to where I parked my truck. Trying to avoid falling, I paid plenty of attention to where I was stepping, but still managed to slip a few times. Incredibly glad that no one was outside to watch my failed attempt at being graceful, I finally made it to my truck, pulling myself in and getting ready to drive off. My truck seemed to have other ideas, though. The thing wouldn't start. Groaning angrily, I smacked the steering wheel in frustration, hoping that the truck would just magically start up. When it didn't, I threw the door back open and climbed out. Stupidly, though, I didn't watch where I was stepping and landing directly on a sheet of ice.

"Seriously?" I yelled to no one in particular after I had fallen flat on my ass. I let my head fall back against my truck and shut my eyes. I didn't want to get up from there, and I had no intention of doing so unless someone or something made me.

"Isn't the ground a bit cold?" Startled, I opened my eyes to look into the face of who was speaking to me. And enter Alice Cullen into this lovely day.

"Yes, it is. But I find it quite calming on my bruised pride." Alice looked at me oddly before deciding that it was all right to laugh at my scowl.

"Well then, I could just leave you there, I guess. But it looked like you were having some car trouble, so if I may be so bold, I would like to invite you to ride with me to school today," Alice replied, being as polite as ever even with that knowing smirk on her face. I didn't want to be rude, but today was probably the worst day for her to come see me so early.

I tried to answer as politely as possible, which ended up being not very. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't think that your family would approve of that." She looked a little hurt at that, but still held out her hand to help me up as I was struggling to my feet. I brushed off the back of my pants, hoping that I didn't tear them, and then refocused on the girl standing in front of me. "What are you doing here anyway?"

She seemed to think this through for a moment before she answered me, almost as if she had to come up with a story as to why she was standing in front of me. "I was on my way to school from my house. I just happened to drive past your home as you began to climb back out of your truck." I didn't believe in coincidences, and my expression must have said that clearly. "Honest, I was just driving by."

Deciding that I couldn't really disprove what she was saying, I nodded slowly both agreeing to her offer and saying that I believed her story. She seemed very excited by this and literally skipped over to her car. But it wasn't just a skip. It was the most elegant skip that I have ever seen, a dance, almost. Of course Alice would be able to do that, though. After all, she is Alice Cullen. I made my way over to her as she held the door open for me, watching where I was stepping. What seemed like eternity later, I had made it to her car and was settled in the passenger's seat. After getting in I realized that this wasn't just a car. This was, like, a piece of art. And what a piece of art it was. A yellow Porsche 911 Turbo through and through. It was amazing. Alice seemed to notice my gawking as she climbed into the driver's seat because she grinned smugly at me.

"You like?" She asked as if she had to. I nodded quickly, still taking in my surroundings. It was beautiful, to say the least. She giggled at my silence and started the car. "So what you said about my family earlier…"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have said what I did. It wasn't my place." I cut her off before she could continue, fearing that she was upset about what I said.

"No, no. It's all right. I just wanted to explain to you that my family is just misunderstood. Sort of. They all acted completely unacceptably yesterday, and they know it. And on behalf of them, I'd like to apologize for the scene in the cafeteria." I stared at her, surprised by her apology. I honestly wasn't expecting it.

I figured replying would probably be a good reaction, given that she was glancing at me out of the corner of her eye worriedly. "Of course it's alright. Well, it's not all right that they made a scene, but I guess I can't really blame them. I did kind of steal their sister for a while. I'd be upset, too." Alice seemed to ponder this for a moment before responding.

"Thanks a lot, Bella. That's really kind of you. I sure that they'd love you if they met you, but we're all very close and never really venture out of our own family for acquaintances." I nodded understandingly. Before I met Alice, I had been kind of stand offish as well. So, I understood where they were coming from. I told her just that and she looked at me queerly. "You've got to be kidding me. You're, like, completely likeable. How could you not have a lot of friends?"

I took a deep breath before answering her. This was a conversation that I was hoping wouldn't come any time soon, but I guess it had to happen eventually. Just as I was about to speak, Alice pulled the car to a stop just outside of school grounds. She looked at me sadly before she spoke again.

"If you don't want to tell me, it's quite alright. I was just curious." She seemed so sincere as she said this and I couldn't help but try and comfort her. I reached over the center counsel, gently placing my hand upon hers that rested in her lap.

"No, it's fine. It's just a long story, and I don't think that we'll have enough time before school starts."

She seemed to have an idea just then as she perked up quickly. "Then why don't we skip today." It was more of a statement than a question. Almost as if she knew what my answer would be already. I agreed with a small laugh as she pulled away from the curb and back onto the road heading away from the school.

Five minutes later, and I couldn't help but asking. "So where are we going, anyway?"

"Well you'll just have to wait and see." She winked at me and I couldn't help the small blush that rose on my cheeks. Alice just does that to me. It can't be helped. I shrugged at her mysterious answer, trying to make it seem like I wasn't as curious as I was. She laughed at this as she continued to speed down the road.

In the quiet, I thought about all I wanted to tell Alice. And in that time, my dream flashed before my eyes again. I scoffed at my own stupidity in believing that Alice could have been my savior and looked out the window. I'm not sure if Alice noticed my action, but if she did, she didn't mention it.

The rest of the car ride was silent. My thoughts consumed me, and Alice… well, I didn't know what Alice was thinking at all.

**So that's it for now. I'll update as soon as I can. The more reviews I get, the more I'll want to update. So keep that in mind.**

'**Till next time. ^-^**


	6. Beautiful Scars

**A/N: You guys are officially great. Your comments are very inspiring and make me want to keep writing for ya'll. And for my personal comments to some of you…**

**Jezikial: I do the same thing when I read stories. And it always sucks when I get to the end. And thank you for what you said. I'm really trying to capture their personalities as best as possible, and it much harder that I anticipated. And skipping class is always the best part of school. Hahaha.**

**Muzcgeek: One, I love your penname. I 3 music as well. And then, for your comment, I would absolutely love to put up, like, five chapters a day. Unfortunately I'm not that skilled and can't write that fast. Sorry!**

**And just because it's necessary: Twilight and its characters do not belong to me, but rather Ms. Stephanie Meyer. **

**And now… Read on!**

Sit here with me

And tell me your story

Even if it breaks my heart

Let me see your scars.

Shame will whisper

Oh but we can't listen

'Cause these are the stories

That make us who we are

And I love who you are

And your beautiful scars,

Your beautiful scars

Reminders of the wounded love

That has carried us this far.

Beautiful scars

Turning the marks of our pain

Into beautiful scars…

"Beautiful Scars" –Steven Curtis Chapman

A few minutes later, we arrived at what I assumed was our destination. Alice climbed out of the car as I sat staring out the window at our surroundings. We were on a cliff that appeared to drop straight down to the ocean. My door suddenly opened and I was drawn out of my observing by Alice holding her hand out to me. After unbuckling myself, I took her hand and mumbled a quick thank you before letting her pull me out of the car. She's much stronger than I would have expected, I could tell that much. I barely had to do anything to get out.

I couldn't help my next question. "Where are we?" I hadn't been paying attention to where Alice was driving, so I was utterly clueless as to where we were. I again took in my surroundings trying to figure out where we might be that was close to the small town of Forks.

"We're actually a quite a ways outside of Forks. I like to come here to think. The sound of the waves is relaxing to me. I hope you don't mind that I brought you this far out…" She trailed off as if I would be upset that she brought me here. She seemed nervous, which was odd to me because I was the one about to tell her my story.

"No, it's alright. I just wasn't expecting to come to a place like this, is all. I like it. Thanks for bringing me out here." I smiled at her, hoping to calm her nerves. It seemed to work because she grinned at me before taking a seat right on the edge of the cliff. It was indeed a beautiful sight to see her relaxed on the edge right in front of me; the waves crashing hundreds of feet bellow her and storm clouds dancing above in the sky. I didn't want to disturb the scene, so I began to take a seat a few feet behind her. And the fact that I was terrified of falling off the edge _might_ have had something to do with my reluctance to join her as well.

"It's alright, Bella. You can join me over here if you'd like. It's completely safe." Hearing that, I rose from my near-sitting position and slowly walked toward her. She glanced back at me over her shoulder and smiled reassuringly at me. "If you're uncomfortable, then we can move back a bit. I just like the feeling of my feet hanging over the edge like this," she said as she swung her feet out into the air. I noticed once again how small she was and couldn't help but think that she could probably sit in a grandfather chair and swing her legs just the same.

"No, it's fine. I'm just a klutz, as you probably saw this morning, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if I fell off of this thing." My tone was joking, but I was being completely serious at the same time.

She smiled at me before speaking. "It's alright, Bella. I'll keep you grounded. Promise." I couldn't help but believe her, and went over slowly to take a seat next to her. She inched a little bit closer and leaned back on her hands. We sat like that for a few moments, just taking in the calm breeze and the sound of water smacking against the rocks bellow us. But all good things must come to an end at some point. "Not that I don't find this incredibly relaxing, but we did skip school and come out here for a reason." She looked at me as if she wanted to say more, but didn't know if she should. I sighed knowing that I could just not tell her if I didn't want to, and that she would be perfectly fine with that. But I also felt like she should know for some odd reason.

"No, I know. I was just trying to get my thoughts together." She nodded at me in understanding, sitting up at the same time. Other than that, she remained quiet, waiting for me to continue. "I'm not sure where to start, to be honest." I glanced at her quickly, slightly ashamed that I honestly had no idea how to tell my own story.

"From the beginning," she answered in a reassuring way. She made it sound so easy, and made me feel like it was just that easy as well. With another sigh, I thanked her and began.

"I used to live with my parents. And we were incredibly happy. My mom was the most scatter-brained person ever, and my dad was just amazing. He was the chief of police, actually." I looked down at my hands at the mention of my parents. It was still hard to talk about them. Alice noticed and grabbed one of my hands for reassurance. I looked up at her thankfully and continued. "We used to live here, in Forks, until I was about eight. Then we moved down to Arizona because my mom got tired of small town life. My dad didn't really want to leave, but he knew that if he tried to stay, she'd just leave without him. They really did love each other, it was just that my mom was such a free spirit and my dad knew that no one could make her stay in one place for too long. So we all moved down south.

"My mom fell in love with the place immediately. My dad… well, not so much. He liked small town life a little too much, but he adjusted quickly enough. He got a job down there as a police officer again. He loved to help people. My mom was just a stay at home mom. She would go out with friends and everything, of course, but she would always come home to her new hobby or whatever she was into at that time. I just loved spending time with her, so I would always sit and watch and join in whenever I could. We were happy down there. Life was good. We had a nice house. We lived in a nice neighborhood where all the houses were right next to each other. I went to a nice school… everything was great. Three years went by quickly enough. I started to not hang out with my mom as much, especially when I had my friends and school to focus on. I would go over to their houses all the time, which left my mom at home by herself. She didn't seem to mind because she always had something to do.

"One night, I had just gotten home from a friends' house. I went up to my room to finish up some homework that I had waited until the last minute to do. I turned my music on because I always work better with some background noise. It helps me concentrate." I looked over at Alice then, just to see what she was thinking. She was looking right back at me with a composed face. When she noticed that I had stopped, she smiled at me and nodded, asking me to continue. I looked back out to the water and started back up. "I didn't hear anything that was happening outside or downstairs. The music drowned it all out. I had almost finished my homework, and I was really excited because it was still early. And then I smelled it. I could smell something burning in the house.

"At first I just figured that my mom had burnt her newest concoction that she was trying to make for my dad. So I paused my music to yell downstairs and make sure that everything was okay. As I made my way to the closed door, the smell started getting stronger and stronger. I touched the door handle and it was incredibly hot. I knew that wasn't normal, and when I looked down, I could see smoke coming through the crack at the bottom of the door.

"I remembered all of our lessons at school about how to handle a fire. All of the stop drop and roll things and everything. So I quickly went over to my bed and grabbed a sheet to push under my door so the smoke wouldn't be able to come in. It didn't help though. Soon my room was filled with smoke. I tried to make it over to my window, but I couldn't find it through the smoke. I started to hear screaming coming from outside, though. And I heard someone yelling my name. I think it was my mom." I stopped there, choking on a sob. I hadn't noticed that I was crying until Alice put her hand against my cheek and brought it away wet.

"You don't have to continue, Bella." She was being so understanding, but I wanted to get this entire thing out. It was the first time that I've told someone other than a professional about what happened.

"No, I want to tell you. Just give me a second." She nodded in understanding, still holding my hand and rubbing the back of it with her thumb. I looked down at our entwined hands and couldn't help the wave of calm that washed over me. So with a deep breath, I continued. "There was yelling everywhere. People were screaming in pain. It was horrible. I finally just collapsed on the floor. I knew that I was going to die; I just hoped that it would be quick. I didn't know if my parents were still alive or if the fire had already gotten to them. Of course my father had to come home early that night. Seems perfect, right? Everyone just happened to be home, so no one escaped it." I scoffed at that. Alice just looked at me sympathetically before squeezing my hand gently. Most sympathetic looks were incredibly fake, but there was just something about the way Alice looked at me that made me know she meant it.

"I finally started hearing sirens outside. I knew they wouldn't get to me in time, though. It was too late. The house was starting to crumble, and the floor below me felt like it was about to give way. I was certain that I was about to die. My lungs were filled with smoke and I kept coughing. The screams had stopped from downstairs. I couldn't cry, though. I didn't know why, but I couldn't cry. Tears just wouldn't come. Weird, huh? That when I knew my parents were dead, and I knew that I was about to die, I couldn't even cry." I looked down trying to hide my own hatred for myself. "It was like I didn't feel anything for them." My tears had started up again, and I felt Alice wrap her arm around me.

"It's going to be alright," was all she said. But it was enough. I looked up at here quickly, surprised that she had said that. My eyes wide as saucers, mouth hanging slightly open, I just stared at her. She only met my gaze with a knowing look. Pulling her arm from around my shoulders and grabbing my hand again, she quietly asked me to keep going.

So I did. "And someone came for me. I don't know who they were or how they got to me. But I felt their arms around me. They were incredibly cold, and I had thought that I died." I didn't stop looking at Alice through this part. She, in turn, kept looking directly in my eyes as well. "And they held me. They picked me up and whispered to me, 'It's going to be alright'." I paused again, looking at Alice waiting for her to say something. When she didn't, I picked my story back up. "Before I knew it, I was outside by the ambulance just outside of our neighborhood. I don't know how we got there so quickly, but we did. And the person that saved me was gone. They just disappeared. No one knows who it was, and barely anyone believes me when I speak of them." I trailed off here as Alice looked away from me for the first time. I thought it best to do the same and looked back out to sea before I continued.

"And still, no one knows what started that fire. All anyone knows is that I was the only person that survived. Everyone else in the neighborhood was dead, and all I got was a stupid burn on my stomach." I placed my hand over the left side of my stomach, as if touching it would make the memory go away. "So I was alone, with out parents or friends or anything. They didn't really know what to do with me. I didn't want to go to an orphanage. And they knew that it would be a bad idea to leave someone traumatized alone like that. So, one of the men that worked on the ambulance took me in. It was actually the same one that found me sitting next to it after I was saved.

"He was incredibly nice. His name was Ryan, and I loved him like an older brother. We got really close as the years went on. He took care of me and made sure that I wasn't left alone. Every night that I woke up screaming from nightmares, he'd be right there next to me, holding me and calming me down. I don't know what I would have done had it not been for him." I sighed again as Alice began rubbing my hand once again. It really was calming.

"Unfortunately, his job required his attention a lot more as the years went on. Earlier this year there was another fire that he was called to. This time they knew what started it, some electrical wire that sparked up in a house. And Ryan was always the hero; never one to leave until he knew everyone that could be saved was. He ran into the fire that night. At first, he made it back out with a little boy, but thought he heard another child in there. So he ran back in. He wasn't even a fireman." I clenched my fists as my tears began to fall again. "He wasn't a fireman, and he ran into the stupid building to save someone else. The idiot kept trying to be a hero. If he had just stopped, he would still be alive, but he had to make sure there wasn't anyone else in the building." I had started shaking and crying again. I didn't know if I could keep on going like this, so I tried to take a few deep breaths. Alice didn't say anything, but her being there helped in itself.

"They found his body after they had put the fire out. He was covering up a little girl that also died. His arms were around her, protecting her from the flames, but he just couldn't make it back out." I got quieter and quieter as I went on. The tears were flowing more freely now. Surprisingly, I didn't care and didn't try and wipe them away.

A few moments later I began again, talking quickly, just trying to finish this. "I was already seventeen then, and child care didn't think that I needed to have another guardian as long as I check in with them once a week letting them know I'm alright. I decided that I wanted to come back here, where it all started." I tried to smile as I looked over at Alice who looked like she was about to cry. "But, to answer your question earlier about not having any friends, I found that it was easier to just not make them than to risk losing them, you know?" She smiled sadly at this, nodding in understanding.

Before I knew what was happening, Alice was hugging me fiercely. "Thank you so much for telling me all that, Bella. And I'm sure that you've heard it before, but I am so incredibly sorry that you had to go through all of that." She let go of me and held me out at arms length, looking me straight in the eye before she continued. "And that person that saved you was a complete imbecile for leaving you alone like that. They should have stayed and made sure that you were alright." She then pulled me back in for a hug, and I couldn't help but grip to her tightly as more tears ran down my face.

I closed my eyes and rested against her, just letting myself cry. She didn't seem to mind. In fact, she seemed to welcome it. I gripped at her back and pulled her as close to me as possible. She began to hum in my ear and rock us back and forth. It was the most enchanting tune that mixed perfectly with the sound of the waves below us.

**A/N: Alright, that's it for this chapter. Can I just say that even I almost started crying during Bella's story, and I'm the one writing it. I was like "Oh my God! Why does all this have to happen?" and it was quite devastating. So, that said, I hope that this chapter was all that you expected and then some. If you see anything wrong or anything like that, just let me know and I'll try to fix it. **

**The more comments I get, the more likely I'll post something new quickly. Just sayin. Haha.**

'**Till next time ^-^**


	7. The Secret's in the Telling

**A/N: So it's great to know I wasn't alone in my almost tears. Haha. And thank you all for complimenting my writing. It's great to hear. Would anyone believe me if I said this was the first story/fanfic I have ever written? **

**Jezikial: I just like you. lol. You're just very inspiring when I read reviews. So thanks for reviewing so much. It's fantastic. And yeah, I really did try to put real emotion into it. I hate it when you can tell that people aren't actually into what they're writing. It's just annoying.**

**Kyraaah1992: Thank you, thank you. Tears are welcome, though I'm sorry for making tears come if that makes sense. But, like I said, at least I wasn't the only one that was about to shed tears.**

**Aussie Royal: I'm going to be getting to that. I just have to set it all up well enough so that it's not just like "So here's the people, and now some action!" Ya know? So just hold tight and I'll get to all that quickly. Thanks!**

**Alright, so Twilight and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. You all know that. This plot is still mine, though.**

**And now… Read on!**

Time flew by quickly after that. Alice didn't let go of me until I cried everything out, and for that I was grateful. Eventually I did pull away to wipe my tearstained cheeks.

"Sorry about that, Alice. I didn't mean to break down on you." I chuckled at my own actions, embarrassed that I had cried so much.

She wiped away a stray tear, letting her hand linger on my cheek before she spoke. "It takes a really strong person to cry in front of someone else, especially someone they don't know well. You really don't need to apologize for trusting me." She smiled sweetly at me, letting me know that she was being completely honest. Her hand was still on my cheek, and I leaned into it, closing my eyes.

"Why is your hand so cold?" I asked before I knew what I was saying. I slowly opened my eyes, hoping that she hadn't taken offense. She looked a bit startled, but quickly composed herself while pulling her hand away.

"Poor blood circulation," she responded before laughing shortly. "But it is getting late. We had better start heading back if you're ready to go." She waited for me to agree before standing up and offering me her hand. Once I stood, I turned to face her more properly. She hadn't let go of my hand, and didn't seem to have any intention of doing so. She actually seemed to be deep in thought, as if she was thinking about whether or not to say something. I didn't know whether or not to say anything, so I just stood there, watching her eyes. They really were beautiful, although they seemed a bit darker today than they were yesterday. They were looking just over my eyes, not directly at them. It was kind of unnerving.

After a few more moments, I decided that I should say something. "Alice, are you alright?" That seemed to snap her out of her trance, and she looked away quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something." She smiled at me, but it didn't reach her eyes. It was startling that I could already tell when her smile was real or not, but she was just so readable in her own way. Her eyes were incredibly expressive.

"Care to share?" I asked hopefully. I didn't like seeing her so out of sorts, and to be honest, it was a little worrisome.

She shook her head before looking at me very seriously and answering. "I'd love to, Bella, but I'm not sure if I can right now. I'm sure that I'll tell you eventually, but if you don't mind waiting, that would be great." Her eyes never left mine as if she had to get this across to me. I felt like my answer now could and would change everything if I answered incorrectly. So I went with a nonchalant answer that I hoped would let her know I was willing to wait.

"Alright. It's not like I can really force you to tell me, and I'm sure you'll tell me when the time's right." She smiled at me again before turning and walking toward the car. Her hand was still in mine as she walked a little ahead of me. She only let go when she had the passenger side open for me to get in. I climbed in and waited somewhat patiently for her to get in and start the car. She got in quickly enough and began to drive back toward Forks.

On the drive home, I couldn't stop thinking about all that had happened today. My dream had been weird enough, but spending the whole day out with Alice and skipping was totally crazy. Not strangely, though, one part kept sticking out to me. It was when Alice had said exactly what my rescuer did. I had to admit that it was a common phrase. It's not like it was rare for someone to say that. But it was just so odd that Alice would say it right then, right as I was getting to that specific part. I finally caved and asked her about it. "Do you mind if I ask you something?" I looked over at her to see her nod at me to continue. "Earlier, while I was telling you about what happened, you said something to me. 'It's going to be alright'. I was just wondering… well, I don't really know what I was wondering actually..." I trailed off as I looked over to see Alice's grip on the steering wheel tightening. Her jaw was set, and if I hadn't known better, I would have thought she was angry at me.

"I can't explain that right now, Bella. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait." I didn't know how to respond to that, so I just sat there. Maybe she was angry with me. I looked back out the window trying to avoid making Alice any more upset. I could see my house coming into view already and had to admit that I was slightly relieved. Alice came to a stop on the side of the road just outside my house. Sighing, she turned to face me after she put the car in park. I did the same and looked at her, hoping that she would tell me whatever has been bothering her. "Look, Bella, I really want to tell you everything. There's honestly nothing that I would rather do more so than tell you at this very moment. But I can't right now. I completely understand if you're upset that I can't tell you, but—" I cut her off before she could continue.

"No, Alice. I'm not upset. Don't worry about that. I'm curious, is all. And a little worried. But, I can wait; just don't expect me to wait long." I smirked at her to let her know that I was joking. She seemed to loosen up after seeing that and smiled back at me, this time letting it reach her eyes. I can honestly say that I absolutely love to see her smile.

"Thank you, Bella. I promise that you won't have to wait long. In fact, I'm going to go talk to my father right now about this matter." I took this as my cue to leave, so I began to turn toward my door before speaking again.

"I really enjoyed going out with you today. Thanks for listening." I had put my hand on the door handle, but turned my head back to look at her so that she knew I was being sincere.

"It was really no problem, Bella. Thank you for telling me." She smiled again before continuing. "I'd really love to have more days like this."

"Me too, Alice. Me too." And with that, I climbed out of the car and said a quick goodbye that she returned. She waited until I got the door unlocked before driving away. I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, closing my eyes for a moment. I took a deep breath before pushing off the door and walking down the hall, thinking again about that moment in the car. Surprisingly, I saw the light on the answering machine flashing, indicating that I had a message. I figured that it might have been childcare making sure that I was all right. But, I pushed the play button I found out otherwise as Jacob's voice came through the speaker.

"Hey, Bells. It's me. I heard that you weren't in school today, and I was worried that something might have happened. Just give me a call." I sighed at his over protectiveness and clicked next, wondering how he could have found out that I wasn't at school. The next one was Jake, too. "Bella, it's me again. It's getting late and I still haven't heard from you. Give me a call." The next five messages were much the same. His tone got more and more strict as they went on. I rolled my eyes before picking up the phone to call him back. He acted so much like a father sometimes, and it was a bit overwhelming. But, I figured I'd put him out of his misery. He picked up on the first ring, unsurprisingly.

"Thank God, Bella. I was just about to call you again. Are you all right? Where have you been? Did something happen? Why weren't you in school today?" His voice came through the receiver loud and clear.

"Jake, calm down. I'm okay, and nothing bad happened. I decided to skip school today to go out with a friend and talk." I counted off his questions on my fingers to make sure that I got them all. I nodded to myself after I concluded that I did indeed answer them all, and waited for him to respond. He didn't. In fact, it was eerily quiet on the other end. Finally he answered. Well, questioned.

"Which friend?" That was all. And he asked it as if he knew the answer already. Rolling my eyes at his assuming nature, I answered with as much patience that I could.

"That's not really any of your business, Jake." I never said that I had a lot of patience. In fact, I honestly hated it when people assumed things, especially about me.

"It is my business. You're my best friend, Bella. Not to mention you live alone, meaning that there isn't anyone there to look out for you. So it's my job to do just that." His voice rose through this. I could tell he was getting frustrated, but I really didn't care.

"It's not your _job_ to do anything, Jacob. You're younger than I am, and I don't need you to look out for me. I'm fine on my own. You know that." I was starting to lose patience with him. Lucky for him, he noticed.

"No, you're right, Bells. I'm sorry." I was about to accept his apology, but he continued. "Will you please just tell me who you were out with?" I sighed into the phone before I spoke.

"If you must know, I went out with Alice Cullen." I waited for him to start yelling again, but was relieved when he didn't.

"I thought I asked you to stay away from them, Bella. They aren't safe." He was trying to keep his cool, and for that I was grateful. His voice didn't even sound too strained. It actually almost sounded like he'd given up.

"I know you said that, Jake, but I like Alice. She's really nice and we're hitting it off great. And it's not like we did anything dangerous. We just went out and talked. Nothing too dangerous there. And until you give me proof that the Cullen's are in fact dangerous, I'm going to believe what I see." I, in turn, tried to keep calm as well. He mumbled something to himself before he spoke again.

"Okay. We'll talk about this later. Are you still planning to come over here Saturday? The bonfire's still on, and it'd be great to see you." I was more than happy for the change of subject, though I didn't miss the "we'll talk about this later" that he threw in there.

"Yeah, of course. I wouldn't miss it."

"Alright. I'll see you then." He hung up before I could answer him. I didn't know what was going on with him, but I knew that I didn't like it. He was being rude, and so un-Jake-like.

After placing the phone back on the charger, I went by the kitchen to grab something to eat before heading up to my room. Tomorrow was Friday, which meant that I'd be heading over to the Reservation the following day. Hopefully, though, I'd have a chance to talk to Alice alone tomorrow. Maybe she'd be able to tell me what she was trying to say today.

"Shoot!" I yelled as I remembered that my truck wouldn't start this morning. Grumbling to myself, I made my way back down the stairs with my keys, and out to my truck, hoping beyond hope that it would magically start up. I left the door open when I got in, leaving my leg hanging out the side. Holding my breath, I turned they key in the ignition, waiting for some sign that my truck was alive. The engine revved, and right as I was about to give up, it fired and started up. I was ecstatic and couldn't help bouncing up and down in my seat. Not wanting to push my good luck, I turned off the beast and headed back inside. I grinned to myself as I got through the door and set the keys on the kitchen table.

I decided that even though today had started off bad, it ended on a good note. My time out with Alice was great, even though we were talking about a tough subject. It felt good to get all of that off my chest, though. And telling her all of that felt like the right thing to do. Having cleared that up, I moved back upstairs and grabbed the book I had started to read yesterday. It was still kind of early, so I decided spending a few hours reading wouldn't be a bad idea. So I did just that.

By the time I decided it was late enough to go to sleep, it had started raining. And when I say raining, I mean storming. Sheets of rain were falling down, and it was incredibly loud against the roof. I never would have told anyone, but I did love the rain. It was so calming to listen to.

I placed my book down as I looked out my window. It really was pouring. I stood and walked over to the window, opening it so that the only think keeping me away from the outside was the screen. Taking in a deep breath to smell the rain, I turned back around to get ready for bed. It was already 10:30, meaning it was still early-ish but late enough for me to try and get some sleep.

After effectively getting on a pair of sweats and a baggy t-shirt, I pulled my blankets back, ready to climb in. Just as I sat down, I heard someone knocking on my door. Figuring that it was just my imagination, I sat quietly waiting to see if I actually did hear anything. When I heard it again, I made my way quickly downstairs, carefully watching my step so that I didn't make a fool of myself by falling down them. When I got to the bottom, I took a deep breath before heading over to the door to answer it. I stood frozen after I opened the door.

Standing in front of me in the pouring rain getting soaked was none other than Alice Cullen. I repeat. Alice Cullen was standing outside, drenched, waiting to talk to me.

It's going to be a long night.

**A/N: Duhn duhn duuhhnnnnn. What will happen now? **

**Hope you all liked that chapter. I'll update as soon as I can. And, just to let you all know, last chapter got the most reviews so far, and I love getting reviews. Seeing them and reading them makes me want to keep writing for all of ya'll. So please keep it up with the reviews. If you have any ideas as to where all this should go, go ahead and say something. I may put it in there later on. I was actually hit with a plan while working out today, so that should be coming into the plot line soon. Anyway…**

'**Till next time ^-^**


	8. A Time For Everything

**A/N: So I'm sitting here writing this between 11:00 PM and 1:30 AM. Be grateful. Haha, just kidding. So 14 reviews this chapter and every single one of them was greatly appreciated. If I didn't reply to yours on here, it's not because I didn't read it. I just don't want to take up a lot of space replying. But I really do appreciate every one of your comments so please keep them coming!**

**Aussie Royal: You weren't being harsh and even if you were it's all good. Everyone feels bad sometimes, so I can't really blame you. And your comment did get me thinking more about the action that needs to be in this, so thank you.**

**WaLe: The cliffhangers are what keeps everyone coming back! Haha. You know you love them.**

**Kyraaah1992: Good to know. And thank you for the compliments. =)**

**Hellowgo: I feel like you have commented before, but more comments are always welcome. And I'd rather build up the relationship than just jump in it because that never really happens.**

**Jezikial: I have the same problem with spelling and grammar. If the story isn't coherent, I won't read it. I'm sure you're a great writer, so I'll have to check out some of your work sometime. But your reviews are always loved and accepted. And as I said to Hellowgo, I like building up the relationship rather than just jumping in because it is so unrealistic, as you said. So thanks for noticing that as well. =)**

**Like always, the characters and original story of the Twilight Saga belong to Stephanie Meyer, not me. I do own this plot and any other characters that were not mentioned in any of the Twilight books.**

**And now… Read on!**

"Hello, Bella," Alice greeted, still standing on the front porch. "I'm sorry it's so late, but I thought it would be better to talk to you sooner rather than later." I just stared at her wondering what could be of such a great importance that Alice would venture out at night to come talk to me in the pouring rain. I must have been quiet for too long because Alice started shifting from foot to foot as if she was nervous. "I can come back another time if it's too late, Bella. I just thought—"

"No, come on in. You just surprised me is all," I quickly collected myself and opened the door further so she could come in. "You're soaked. You must be freezing. Did you run here or something?" I half-joked. I really wouldn't put much past Alice at this point.

"Something like that." She answered with a quiet laugh. Realizing that we were still standing in the entranceway, I motioned for Alice to follow me upstairs.

"Why don't you change into some of my clothes? They'll probably be big on you, but they'll do for now." She nodded in agreement before following me up the stairs. Her mind seemed to be on a completely different plain, as she stared ahead of her. But, not surprisingly, Alice was as graceful as ever. "I'll be waiting downstairs in the living room," I told her after I had handed her some clothes. She muttered a quick thank you before turning so that her back was facing me and began to lift her shirt. She had gotten it about halfway up her back before she turned her head to look at me.

"Is something the matter, Bella?" she asked looking truly curious as to why I was still in the room.

I blushed, realizing that I had been staring. "No, no. Sorry. Uhm… I'll be… Yeah, I'll be downstairs," I mumbled out. Turning awkwardly and walking toward the door, I heard Alice giggle and whisper something to herself.

I didn't have to wait long once I got downstairs. Almost as soon as I had sat down on the couch, Alice was in the hallway making her way toward me. Oddly enough, this didn't surprise me in the least. Blushing, I spoke quickly. "So, I'm sorry about that upstairs… I wasn't really thinking—" She cut me off before I could continue making a fool of myself.

"Don't worry about it, Bella. It's not a big deal." She waved it off with a grin before turning suddenly serious. "You probably know why I'm here."

"I'm guessing that it has something to do with what was bothering you earlier?" I tried to act as if I was not totally and completely captivated and interested in what she was about to tell me. I don't think I pulled it off very well. Alice smirked quickly before she answered.

"Yes, that's right. And I honestly don't know where or how to start this conversation." She seemed frustrated at this and sat back with her arms crossed over her chest. She had changed into another pair of my sweat pants and one of my t-shirts. Both were too big on her, and she looked quite childish as she sat at the end of the couch as she was. I smiled at her and repeated her words from this morning back at her.

"From the beginning." She gave an appreciative smile before sitting up and leaning over, resting her forearms on her knees. She gave out a sad sigh before speaking.

"If only it were that easy, Bella. You don't seem to understand how horridly long ago that was." Not really getting what she was saying, I scooted over so that I was sitting directly beside her. Trying to lighten the mood, I answered as lightheartedly as I could.

"Oh yeah, because you're, like, what? One hundred and fifty now, right?" I laughed shortly, but she just turned and looked at me seriously. My laughter and smile faded away quickly at her look.

"Not quite," was her only response before she sat back again. I furrowed my brow in confusion as I watched her. "I just wish that I could come out and say this without you thinking that I'm utterly insane, Bella." She ran a hand through her hair, pulling on the ends slightly. It was still wet, so some water dripped onto the back of the couch. I watched this, mesmerized by her simplest of actions. Finally deciding that it was my turn to talk and be supportive, as she had been for me this morning, I reached over and grabbed her hand. Giving it a gentle squeeze, I smiled at her.

"I won't think you're crazy, Alice. I promise. Please just tell me what's on your mind." She seemed to think on this for a moment before closing her eyes and nodding.

"Alright. I honestly don't know what is going to happen, but I doubt you'll believe me." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Her breath smelled amazing, but I decided it would be best not to mention that right now. "Bella, I'm a… Well, I'm not normal." Like I hadn't known that already. Alice was the furthest thing from normal. In the best way, of course. I waited silently with a small smile until she continued. She pulled my hand up slowly, turning it so that the back of my hand was in her palm. She then rested it against her chest. I blushed instantly, not knowing what she was doing.

"Alice, what…?" I asked hesitantly.

"What do you feel, Bella?" She was looking me straight in the eye as if this was of the most importance. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be feeling. There wasn't anything abnormal. Her, well my shirt. Her cool skin underneath. Other than that there was nothing. Her grip tightened on my hand slightly.

"Alice, I don't feel any…" I trailed off. I didn't feel anything. No beating of a heart. Nothing. My mouth fell open and Alice nodded as she waited for me to continue. "I don't feel anything." I sat there in shock for a moment. It was completely silent except for the sound of our breathing. What seemed like hours later, Alice finally spoke.

"My heart doesn't beat. It doesn't need to." She brought my hand down and looked away from me. "Bella, I'm a vampire." She looked back at me sadly. Well color me shocked. I didn't know what to say. I'm pretty sure that my mouth had fallen even further open by this point as I sat there stunned. After some time, it could have been minutes, maybe hours, Alice let go of my hand with a sigh. "I'll be leaving then." She stood up dejectedly and began to walk toward the door. Realizing that I had probably just completely and totally insulted the nicest person I've met in this town, I quickly stood, calling out her name. She turned back to face me with wariness covering her features. Her shoulders were somewhat slouched and her head was down. She fiddled with her hands in front of her as if she was about to be punished.

I walked over to her slowly before reaching out and tilting her head up so that she would be looking at me. "You're serious, aren't you?" I had to be certain that this wasn't some sick joke.

"I've never been more serious about anything in my life." I searched her eyes for any sign that she was lying to me, but found none. I ran my hand through my hair, trying to mull this over.

"So you're saying that you're a vampire. Like, blood drinking, sun hating, bat transforming vampire."

"Well, not sun hating or bat transforming. My family and I actually love the sun. And the whole bat thing is actually completely ludicrous." She smiled a little, and I couldn't help returning a small one of my own.

"But you do drink blood?" Her smile faltered and she nodded slowly.

"Yes, Bella. My family and I are sustained by drinking blood." She looked away again.

"Okay then…" Her head jerked up with surprise. I think this was the first time that I had ever seen Alice Cullen surprised. I chuckled a little before asking her what the problem was.

"Okay? Just okay? Just like that? You aren't afraid or anything?" She was completely shocked. So much so that she threw her arms up at her last question.

"Yes, just okay. And no, I'm not afraid. The way I see it, if you wanted to kill me or drink my blood or whatever, you would have done it by now. You've had plenty of opportunities." She snapped her mouth shut as she thought this over.

"You don't know if that's true, Bella. Maybe I'm some sadistic vampire that gets her kicks out of knowing the back-stories of her kills. Ever think of that?" I couldn't help laughing at that. She seemed slightly offended, and I quickly righted myself and explained.

"Alice, you can't be serious. You are probably the nicest, sweetest person I have ever met. I can't see you killing anyone, to be honest." She looked like she was about to blush as she straightened her posture and mumbled a thank you.

"I can't believe that you have no problem with what I am. I mean, for all you know I have to drink human blood every day to sustain myself. And then there's my family to put into consideration—"

"Wait. Everyone in your family is a vampire?" I know that she had said something about that earlier, but it just clicked. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was.

"Yes, Bella. Every one of us. Does that frighten you?" Sadness covered her face again, and I hated myself for letting that happen.

"Well, yes and no. I think that your brother and sister wouldn't think twice about getting rid of me by the way they responded to you talking to me yesterday." I grinned so that she knew I was joking. She, in turn, laughed her tinkling laugh.

"Oh no, Bella. No one in my family would do anything of the sort. We don't drink human blood." This peaked my interest considerably. In every vampire story I had seen or heard, the vampire always drained humans of their blood.

"What do you mean?" I was genuinely curious at this proclamation.

"We only drink animal blood. None of us want to kill people, Bella. We don't want to be monsters." As she said this, I realized that I hadn't considered her a monster at all this whole time. Alice looked at me questionably as I thought to myself. She had made her way back to the couch by this point and she motioned for me to sit down as she did the same.

"You know, I hadn't thought of you as a monster at all, Alice. You or anyone in your family. Is that weird?"

She stared at me queerly before answering. "Bella, you are quite honestly the weirdest person I have ever come across in all my years." She smiled warmly at me, letting me know that she hadn't meant that as an insult. "You've taken this all incredibly well for a human, Bella. It's quite astounding." She looked as if she was almost in awe of me, which again caused me to blush.

"I doubt that…" I mumbled out quietly. Trying to change the subject back to her, I said the first thing that popped into my head. "Speaking of all your years, how old _are_ you?"

She answered quickly enough. "Nineteen." I raised an eyebrow at her, knowing that she knew what I meant. "About one hundred and ten." She seemed nervous about telling me.

And I, being my eloquent self, answered with a well thought out, "Huh" and a shrug of my shoulders.

"Definitely the weirdest human ever," she laughed out. "I tell you that I am over a hundred years old, and all you can say is 'huh'?" I shrugged again before reclining back onto the couch.

"Well in all honesty, I already like you. Your age, whether nineteen or a hundred and ten, doesn't change that." She smirked at me triumphantly as I realized what I just said. My face must have turned ten shades of red within those few seconds. "No, wait, that's not what I meant. What I meant was… Uhm…"

"What did you mean, Bella?" Alice asked devilishly. My blush raged across my face again.

"I, uh, I just meant that… Uhm…" Alice laughed, ending my torture. She leaned closer to me before she spoke

"It's alright, Bella. And if it makes you feel any better, in all honesty, I like you too." She answered me with a wink before kissing my cheek and leaning back. She pulled her legs up onto the couch and crossed them, looking completely innocent with her smile firmly in place. I, on the other hand, was blushing like crazy. Trying to compose myself, I ran my hand through my hair once again. We sat there in silence for a few more moments, just enjoying each other's company. I decided that it would be best if I said something, even though I was quite enjoying just being in Alice's presence.

"Uhm, Alice I was wondering—" I didn't get very far because Alice's phone rang just then. She pulled it out quickly, looking at the caller ID and rolling her eyes before answering. I laughed quietly at this, and she looked over to me with a grin.

"Yes, Edward?" That was all I heard of the conversation. She was speaking too fast for me to understand anything, and it was over in less than a minute. She hung up, glaring at the phone as if it was her worst enemy. "I'm sorry to say this, Bella, but I need to go. It's getting late anyway." I looked over my shoulder at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was now past one in the morning. I hadn't noticed that that much time had gone by. When I turned back around, Alice was already standing. "My family and I won't be at school tomorrow. It's going to be sunny, so we'll be staying home."

"I thought you said you weren't afraid of the sun," I asked skeptically, remembering what she had said earlier.

"We're not. Remind me to tell you more about that later." I didn't think that I'd need to remind her, but nodded in agreement anyway. And I couldn't deny that her not being at school tomorrow did sadden me quite a lot. She must have noticed this because she tried to console me. "We can go out again tomorrow afternoon if you'd like. Once you get home from school." I was more than happy to agree to this, and did so quickly. She smiled and pulled me into a hug, breathing in deeply. When she let me go, she turned and I walked her to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Bella. Oh, and before I forget, it is of great importance that you don't tell anyone about my family and I. No one can know about us."

"Alright, I can do that." She smiled thankfully and I returned it. "See you tomorrow, Alice." After another quick hug, she was gone. I guess she had run here, seeing as her car was nowhere in sight and her direction didn't indicate that she was heading toward a car. I closed the door and locked it before heading back upstairs to my room. Alice's clothes were laid out neatly on the floor in the corner to dry. I guess she had forgotten them. No matter, I could give them to her tomorrow.

Walking over to my bed, I turned off the light and climbed in. As I lay there, I knew that I wouldn't get any sleep as thoughts of Alice and our conversations today flooded my mind.

**A/N: So I hope that was everything that you were expecting and then some. As I said before, I wrote this quite late at night, which was surprisingly a great time to write. So let me know what you think. I'm going to go into more detail and the explanation more later on. I didn't want Alice to tell her everything in one sitting, so we'll get there. **

**Hope to hear from everyone out there reading this. If we could get more reviews on this one than any of the other ones so far, I would be ecstatic. **

'**Till next time! ^-^**


	9. Transition

**A/N: Alight, 15 comments for the last chapter. Thank you all for that. Sorry this one's taken so long to put up, but it's the longest chapter so far. It is very much a set up chapter for the next few chapters, so keep an eye out for those. **

**Departed: It really is the best feeling ever when you realize there's more to read. Haha. And thank you very much. I am actually pretty proud of this story so far, so we'll see how it goes.**

**Jezikial: I actually laughed at them myself. I really tried to capture Bella as best I could in that conversation, so it's always great to find out that my attempts were successful. And her finding that out will all come in due time. Absolutely promise. Like, in the next couple chapters is the plan. Perhaps the next one? I hope you think this chapter is just as good as the last one, though I wrote this over a couple days. Hopefully it's not too spastic.**

**Black Lithnig: As I told Jezikial up there, I hope you like this chapter just as well as the last one even though I didn't write it in the middle of the night. And thank you for your compliments. They are greatly appreciated.**

**Littlestdevil: I love, love, love making my readers actually react like that. So thank you SO much for telling me that. **

**Kyraaah1992: Well, you can always make your comments super long for me. Haha, just kidding. Thanks!**

**As always, Twilight and it's characters do not belong to me at all, but rather Stephanie Meyer. All other characters and the plot of this specific story do belong to me. **

**And now on to what you all are here for, the actual chapter.**

**And….. Read on!**

I woke up the next morning after getting maybe an hour of sleep. I wasn't a happy camper, to say the least. After getting ready much slower than usual, I finally made it outside to head to my truck. The sun was beating down on me, but it was still a bit cool out. My smile at the nice weather quickly disappeared as I remembered that Alice wouldn't be at school because of it. Grumbling to myself, I jumped up into my truck and started off to school.

Apparently skipping school on your second day as a new student is not the smartest thing for one to do. As I walked into science, Mr. Banner seemed to find it necessary to bombard me with questions, asking if I was okay and if anything happened.

"I'm fine, Mr. Banner. I wasn't feeling well yesterday, so I stayed home," I answered his questions, trying to act as innocent as possible. I didn't expect my façade would work in the least.

"Oh, of course Bella." Guess everyone can be proven wrong every now and then. "It's always hard to adjust to new surroundings. Just ask one of your classmates for the work that you missed and you'll be fine." I knew that he probably didn't act like that with everyone, but I didn't argue. I may have on any other day, but I was already in a sour mood due to lack of sleep as well as lack of Alice. It's a new disease that I'm already sure I could die of.

I nodded my thanks to Mr. Banner and made my way over to my seat. Even though I knew that Alice wouldn't be there, I still found myself glancing up at the door every time someone new walked in, hoping that she'd make a surprise entrance. Sadly, that didn't happen. As the bell rang, I sighed to myself and leaned my head on my hand. I looked out the window, hoping that this class would go by quickly and thinking about all that had already happened in such a short period of time. A quiet voice interrupted my thoughts not five minutes later.

"Uhm… Do you need the notes from yesterday?" I looked up to see who was addressing me to find the shy looking girl that sits in front of me looking right back at me. I think someone addressed her as Angela, but I couldn't be certain.

"Yeah, that'd be great…" I trailed off hoping that she'd supply her name.

"Angela. Angela Webber." She began to dig in her backpack as she continued talking. She wasn't one of those annoying talkers, though. Rather, she seemed contemplative about what she would say, and didn't spew out words just to say them. "I'm sorry we didn't get to talk before. I thought that you'd want at least a little space on your first day." I nodded in agreement eagerly. "I figured as much," she said with a laugh.

"You're about the only person that has been that courteous. And thanks." I held up the notebook that she just handed to me so she knew what I was thanking her for. She laughed again, loosening up and becoming less nervous.

"Well, you have to realize that you did just move into an incredibly small town with an equally small high school. Any new person is news, so with you already being kind of famous and all, it was huge news." She gave a sympathetic smile as I leaned back in my chair with a sigh.

"Oh, I know." I rubbed my eyes, continuing without looking up at her. "I just wish that I could go somewhere without people recognizing my name, you know?" She nodded understandingly. I noticed Mr. Banner trying to get the class' attention up at the front of the room. "Let me copy this real quick, and I'll get it back to you," I said, once again holding up Angela's journal. She nodded to me and turned back around in her seat. I copied them as quickly as possible, hoping that my handwriting would be legible enough to read again later. When I finished, I tapped Angela on the shoulder and whispered a quick thank you. She smiled and nodded, turning back around to face the front of the class.

I decided that I liked Angela. She seemed really cool and didn't pry too much into anything. I smiled to myself, noting that I should try to be friends with her. With nothing to keep my mind busy without the notes to copy, I found myself thinking once again about Alice.

Our conversations yesterday were a lot to take in. My lack of sleep last night proved that. I decided that I could get used to the whole vampire thing easily enough. If Alice had planned on killing me, she would have already. She's had plenty of chances throughout the past couple days. So, simply put, I really wasn't worried about her killing me. Her siblings, on the other hand, I was only slightly terrified of. She had mentioned some of their names in passing, but I had still yet to meet them and I'm not sure if I want to as of right now. Her brother Edward seems like a real douche with the way she responded to his call last night. But who am I to judge a book by it's cover?

I began to replay yesterday in my head once again. I had to have done that at least a dozen times already. Remembering my plans to go to the Reservation the next day, I let out a groan. It must have been louder than I thought because quite a few people turned to look at me. I smiled letting them know that nothing was wrong, and they slowly turned back to the front of the class one by one. When the last pair of eyes was finally off of me, I looked up at the clock. There was still about fifteen minutes left in class and I was already bored with school. Contemplating skipping the rest of the day to go grocery shopping, I sat back in my chair to wait out the rest of class.

When the bell finally rang, Angela looked back at me with a worried expression. "Are you alright, Bella?" She looked genuinely concerned, which was more than I could say for the people listening in on our conversation. Their attempts at being sneaky failed miserably.

"Yeah, don't worry. I was just thinking about something." She nodded again in understanding and stood up, packing up her things as she went.

She nodded again to herself as if she was deciding on whether or not to say something. Looking at me once again, she began. "I honestly don't think anyone would blame you for leaving school early, if that's what you were thinking about. But if you do stay, you're welcome to sit with me at lunch if you don't have anyone to sit with. My friends are all pretty nice and I don't think they'll mind." I blinked a few times, surprised, before I answered her.

"Oh, I wasn't really thinking about leaving, though it did cross my mind. And if you really don't think that they'd mind, I'd love to sit with you guys." She smiled before excusing herself to head to her next class. Dejectedly, I did the same, not wanting to have to walk the halls by myself.

I tried to keep my head down as I made my way to math. About half way there, I noticed a pair of shoes firmly planted about two feet in front of me. He owner of said shoes cleared his throat. I tried to move to the side so that I could continue on my way, but he moved in front of me again. Groaning to myself, I looked up into his face. He was a nerdy looking guy who looked like he probably hit puberty a bit later than the average male. He was barely my height, which isn't saying much for a guy, and wore wire-rimmed glasses. Again, he cleared his throat. "Can I help you?" I didn't think that his obstructing my path was the best way to get my attention, so I wasn't trying too hard to be nice.

"Well actually, I was wondering if I could help you. You see, I'm Eric and I know my way around this place pretty well." I fought against the urge to roll my eyes. Knowing how to get around this place wasn't that hard since it was so small. But if he wanted to play that card, who was I to stop him? "And I know that you're new here so I thought I could show you around and walk you to your next class. Maybe ask a few questions. I'm on the newspaper team, too. I was hoping that maybe you'd be willing to tell me about yourself. New students are always big news around here."

I whispered a "So I heard" to myself more than him, to which he replied with a questioning glance, before actually answering him. I spoke louder when actually answering, "Thanks, but I think I'm good." I smiled, trying to be civilized. It wasn't his fault that he caught me on a bad day. "And, if you could, could you skip the article on me? I'm really not a fan of attention." He nodded quickly as if he'd do anything for me.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure, Bella. No article. And if you need anything, anything at all, just let me know." I think he meant more than just help around the school, but I let it drop. I smiled with what I hoped was an appreciative smile at him before I continued down the hallway.

But my life really couldn't be that easy. Before I made it to class, I was stopped once again by Mike. I found that he wasn't as easy to get rid of as Eric, which was quite bothersome to be honest. "Hey, Bella. I was wondering if maybe you were free any time this weekend so we could go out like you said the other day?" He had placed his hand on my arm, making sure that I couldn't make an escape.

Sighing, I answered, "I really can't Mike. I actually have a lot to do this weekend." He apparently took the sigh as actual disappointment that we couldn't do anything.

"Oh, that's fine," He smiled at me. "We can just do something another day. No worries. I'll see you around, Bella." He released me and turned to walk away, waving at me.

"Yeah, see you around," I half mumbled, half said loudly enough for him to hear. If possible, his smile got even bigger as he made his way away from me. It may have been bad of me, but I really hoped that he would run into something or trip as he walked down the hall backward. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and he turned the corner safely. I quickly made my way the rest of the way to class, making sure that I avoided getting stopped by anyone else.

After finally making it to math, the day started to go by a little faster. I always found math at least a little interesting, so it wasn't incredibly hard to distract myself from the vacant seat next to me. The bell rang sooner than I expected, not that I was complaining. I quickly gathered my books up and made my way to the lunchroom, only realizing that I had no idea where Angela sat once I arrived. Luckily, I didn't have to stand there awkwardly very long because I heard my name being called a little ways away. I turned to find Angela standing and waving me over to her. As I made my way over to her, I took in who all was sitting at her table and recognized two of them instantly. Mike and Eric. Lovely.

As I arrived at the table, Angela started speaking to her friends. "Guys, this is Bella Swan. She's going to be sitting with us today at lunch." She sounded so sure of herself, which was incredibly different from earlier. Mike and Eric both quickly stood up, offering me their seats. Angel rolled her eyes at that and pointed to the empty seat next to her. Looking incredibly dejected, both boys sat down and began playing with their food. I couldn't help but laugh a little at their actions. "I'm guessing that you three have already met?" Angela had looked over at me after we had both sat down, waiting for an answer. I didn't need to supply one for both Eric and Mike began to speak.

"Yeah, I met Bella on her first day," "I just spoke to her before last class," they both said at the exact same time. I again laughed a little as they glared at each other, both wanting to get the upper hand. The other girl sitting at the table dramatically rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Okay, the shiny new toy is here, boys. Calm yourselves down." She then looked at me with a fake-ish smile plastered to her face. "I'm Jessica, by the way." I nodded to her and said a quick hello. She then went back to bickering with Mike and Eric who had begun to argue again about who was a better friend with me.

Angela leaned closer to me and said in a semi-whisper, "Don't mind them. Mike and Eric both think that they're hot stuff, and Jess has a problem with not being the center of attention. You'll get used to it." All three of the afore mentioned students turned to glare at Angela before they all burst out laughing. I couldn't help but joining in as well as I watched them. Anyone could tell that these four were all really good friends and that they suited each other well.

The rest of lunch passed quickly with all five of us joking around with each other. It was really easy to join in with them and they made it easy to become friends quickly. By the end of lunch, we had all decided that we would go catch a movie together some time soon. With that decided, we all headed our separate ways, me going out to my car to spend my free period, and everyone else going to their next class. It would be a complete lie if I were to say that I wasn't surprised to find a very familiar figure leaning against the cab of my truck when I walked up.

"Jacob?" I had stopped a couple yards away, not sure exactly where we stood after our little argument on the phone yesterday. He quickly dispelled that uncertainty when he walked up to me and spun me around in a giant hug.

"Bella! It feels like forever since I've actually seen you face to face," he smiled at me after he put me down. I looked back at him unbelievingly for a moment before answering.

"Jake, it was like, three days ago that you picked me up at the airport. Not forever in any way," I laughed out. It was always really easy to talk to Jake, and that wasn't any different now. Years ago, he had confessed that he liked me as more than a friend. I have always viewed him as a brother, and when I told him that he accepted it. That's not to say that he still doesn't try, but he'll stop if I ask. "Shouldn't you be in school? Or have you become a delinquent and started skipping?" He chuckled at that before a sly smile adorned his features.

"Oh, I don't think you have any place to talk about that. Weren't you the one that skipped her _second_ day at a new school?" Being very mature, I stuck my tongue out at him. He laughed and hit the bottom of my chin so that I bit it. In return, I smacked his arm which I think hurt me more than him. He began laughing again when he saw me rub my hand, trying to make the tingling go away. "You should know better than to hit a boy that's two times your size, Bella. Haven't years of visiting me on the Res. taught you anything?" I glared at him and crossed my arms, turning so that I wasn't looking at him. "Yeah, yeah. Pout all you want, Bells. You know I'm right." He chucked again as I shot him another glare.

"I don't need this, Jake. You're on my territory, now." He always talked about me being on his territory when I visited him on the Res. Such a guy thing to do, but whatever. I'd play along.

"Psh. What ever, Bells. You've lived here for, what, a week? Are you really going to already start calling this your territory?" Jake obviously had no problem teasing me, which I was actually quite grateful for.

Turning to face him, I glared before changing the subject. "Uh-huh. And what happened to you, Jake? I wanted to ask about it before, but you're, like, super buff now. Steroids much?" He had always been fit, but now he was huge muscle-wise.

He flexed over dramatically as he answered. "Oh, these? It just happened. I guess some people are just gifted with super hot bodies." He couldn't help laughing after a moment once he finished, and I quickly joined in.

"Right, Jake. If you say so." I laughed a little again before continuing. "As for us little people who aren't nearly as gifted as you, good looking bodies don't come naturally." Jake turned to me suddenly getting serious.

"You're kidding, right? You're beautiful, Bella." I couldn't help blushing a little at his words. Not as much as I would if someone else would have said that to me, but I'm a blusher. I can't help it. Jake reached across the short distance between us and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Bella, you really should believe me. You are beautiful."

I was starting to feel uncomfortable, so I shook him off as casually as I could and mumbled a thank you before changing the subject. "So when does this bonfire thing start tomorrow?" He rolled his eyes my sudden change of subject.

"At dark, technically. But you can come up earlier if you'd like. Around four or five would be good. We can go walk down to the beach; I know you haven't been there in a while." I smiled as memories of walking down the beach with my family and his flooded my mind. It was hard to remember that, but it was also really nice. I nodded in agreement.

"I'd really like that, Jake. So I'll get down there as soon as I can." He smiled genuinely at me and our conversation turned again back to him being there at Forks High. "You never did answer my question. You skipping or what?" He laughed again at my nosiness before answering.

"Nah, Bells. We have today off. Some kind of tribe holiday from the legends. You'll probably hear about it tomorrow night at the bonfire." I couldn't deny that I was actually excited about hearing it. I loved hearing the old Quileute legends; they were always interesting. Jake new that and used it to his advantage a lot, always coaxing me into coming over to his place to hear his dad tell more of the legends. It was a cheap trick that I knew full well about, but I always fell for it anyway. I couldn't really help it.

"Sounds great. I'll most definitely be there as soon as I can." My free period was almost up by this point, so Jake and I said our goodbyes and he headed over to his car. "Still have that piece of junk, Jake?" He laughed and shook his head, only pointing to my truck before climbing in and waving a final goodbye to me. I waited until he was out of the parking lot before turning and opening the door to my truck to get out my gym clothes.

"So who was that?" I jumped, dropping my bag in the process, as I heard a very unexpected voice speak from inside my truck. I looked up to see a bored looking Alice sitting in my passenger's seat, leaning against the door facing me and throwing a paper ball up into the air, catching it each time if fell. She had her legs crossed on the seat in front of her and watched the ball as it rose and fell into her awaiting hand.

"Alice?" I half screamed, half whispered at her. To say I was surprised would only be the understatement of the year. She giggled as she caught the ball a final time and looked me straight in the eye.

"No, silly, that would be me. And I really doubt a guy like that would be named 'Alice'." She was being a smart ass and she knew it, though I was still too dumbfounded to say anything about it. I stood at the driver's side door for another few moments in silence. "So… who was that?" She was trying to sound uninterested again, but it wasn't working at all. I was certain that she had heard his name and was just trying to get more information about him, but she'd have to work a bit harder for that.

I answered simply, trying to act just as nonchalant, "Jacob."

"Oh, okay." I could tell she was almost to her breaking point and would soon start asking more questions. She began to bite her lip in the most adorable fashion as she thought over what she'd say. I decided to put her out of her misery by giving her more information.

"He's like a brother to me. I've known him since I was little and used to live here with my parents. I've visited him about once a year since then. He actually lives over on the Reservation." Alice had begun to relax, but tensed up again about halfway through my explanation. "What's wrong, Alice?" She had looked down into her lap, watching as her hands tossed the ball between them. "Alice…" I asked again hesitantly.

She looked up at me suddenly, moving so fast that I hadn't realized she even moved until her eyes were locked on mine. "My family and I don't get along with people from the Reservation all that well, Bella. We have history with them that isn't the most pleasant." She looked sad as she said this. Almost as if she wished that they could all get along. That didn't surprise me at all given that Alice was the way she was. I don't think I've met anyone as caring as her. Maybe Ryan, but that'd be a tough call. I cringed a little as I thought of Ryan. Alice must have thought that it was directed at her because she looked down again, grimacing at herself.

I quickly grabbed my things and climbed into the truck wanting to explain myself. "Sorry, Alice. I was just thinking about something else. You don't have to be friends with my friends. Some people just don't get along and it can't be forced. So no worries." I smiled at her, hoping that she could see that I was being honest. She smiled warmly at me before reaching across the distance between us and grabbing my hand, leaning at an awkward angle.

"I was actually wondering if maybe you wanted to get a head start on our afternoon together," she said hopefully. She looked nervous again as she rubbed her thumb in circles on my hand.

I smiled softly, waiting for Alice to look up at me. A few moments later, she glanced up at me through her eyelashes, still looking nervous. She did look absolutely adorable, but I wanted her to see that she shouldn't be nervous so I lifted her chin with my free hand, forcing her to look at me. "I'd love to, Alice. I don't like gym anyway." I laughed a little, hoping that she'd smile which she did brightly. My smile grew along with hers, and she squeezed my hand gently before leaning back again, dodging the sun shining through the windows. It then occurred to me what she was actually doing. "Alice?" I hoped that she'd understand my questioning look, and she didn't disappoint.

"You'll see in a little while, Bella. Promise. But right now, how about we head over to my house? I want you to meet my family." My smile fell at the mention of meeting her family. As she registered my fear, she backtracked quickly. "I mean, we don't have to if you'd be uncomfortable, Bella. I can completely understand if you'd rather not be in a house full of vampires." I wanted to stop her rambling, so I interrupted her in the most reasonable way I could think of on short notice. I leaned over and placed my hand over her mouth. In hindsight, I realized that probably wasn't the brightest idea with her being a vampire, but I didn't really care and nothing bad happened anyway. No harm, no foul.

"Alice, stop talking." She nodded and I moved my hand away from her mouth. "It's not that I'm worried about being in a house full of vampires. But what if they don't like me?" Alice looked at me a little stunned before laughing.

"Bella, you are amazing. I tell you that you're going to meet a family of vampires, and you're afraid that they won't like you." She giggled before placing her hand on my cheek and continuing. "If they have any sense at all, they'll love you." I blushed and nodded, knowing that arguing with Alice would be pointless. She smiled warmly at me and then turned in her seat so that she was facing forward and buckled herself in. "So, to my house?" She looked at me hopefully.

Laughing at her uncertainty, I also turned, buckling myself in and starting the truck. "To your house."

**A/N: Thought I was going to have Bella kiss Alice to stop her from talking, didn't ya? Not yet! Lol. **

**Anyway, that's it for this chapter. I hope it wasn't incredibly boring as it was just setting up the next couple chapters. Let me know what you think, please and thank you. =D**

**Hopefully the next chapter will be up a lot sooner than this one was. Again, I apologize for that. **

**Your comments make me want to write more. Just sayin'. =D**

'**Till next time! ^-^**


	10. Meeting the Family

**A/N: So not that many reviews for the last chapter. Kinda sad, guys. Haha, just kidding. I still love you all.**

**This chapter is once again setting some things up, but it's also getting into more details about both Alice and Bella and their relationship. So have fun reading it. =D**

**Jezikial: That's actually really good to hear. I was worrying that I'd bore a lot of people with that last chapter. Let's just hope you aren't disappointed by this one.**

**Black Lithning: This chapter was written over the time span of two nights. So hopefully it's as good as the last night writing. lol. And thanks a lot. I really was trying to capture everyone well in the last chapter.**

**Ethans Mom: I hope this is up to your expectations meeting the family-wise. And every other way.**

**Kyraaah1992: Me too! **

**And now on to the main attraction… Read on! **

The drive to Alice's was incredibly quiet. Alice barely spoke other than to tell me where to turn. I had obvious thoughts on my mind such as whether or not to go through with meeting a family of vampires. I had no doubt in my mind that they wouldn't try to drink my blood, but some of Alice's siblings did look like they would hurt me very badly had they the chance. Rosalie, for example. I knew from our short encounter in the lunchroom, even though I didn't speak to her personally, that she didn't like me or want to be around me in any way.

Alice seemed to sense that I was more than a little worried about meeting her family. "Penny for your thoughts?" I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye to see a small smile gracing her features, a smile that could make an iceberg melt.

"I don't know if I should actually tell you or not." She pouted a little, crossing her arms over her chest and looking like a child in her seat next to me.

"Now Bella, you've told me all of your deep dark secrets, and you know mine. Why in the world would you think that you shouldn't tell me anything? I highly doubt anything you say could surprise me." She looked over at me expectantly as I glanced at her again. It was very hard not to look at her, even if I was driving.

Sighing, I pulled over on the side of the road before turning so I could face Alice better. "I'm just worried about how they'll react to me being there." She opened her mouth to interrupt me, but I held up my hand to stop her. "No, Alice. Hear me out." She nodded a little hesitantly, raising an eyebrow slightly in confusion. "Your entire family has been living in secret for years now. Probably hundreds for some of them for all I know." I had started to use my hands to exaggerate my sentences. "And then here I come, changing everything that they all know. Not to mention you're all, like, perfect. I mean, I'm almost blinded every time I see you because you're so freaking beautiful. It's ridiculous, really."

Alice seemed to be watching my hands move through the air until the last sentences, in which time she grabbed them and pulled them down to lay between us, hers gently gripping mine. "Bella, calm down. Deep breath." I did as she instructed, already feeling a bit better after getting that all off my chest. Not to mention Alice was holding my hand- always a bonus. "I need you to listen now, though." I nodded waiting for her to continue. "Yes, you are coming into our lives and changing everything we know. But who's to say that isn't for the better? The moment I saw you coming into my life, I knew it was going to be changed forever. All those years ago when I first saw you, I knew I had to have you in my life in some way. It was just a feeling…" She trailed off as she noticed me looking at her oddly. I watched her face as she went back through what she had just said. She apparently realized what had confused me, for she quickly backtracked. "I mean, I just saw you then. A vision, you know?"

"No, Alice. I really don't know. What are you talking about?" I was completely and utterly confused. Alice seemed to notice that she hadn't mentioned something important before.

"Oh! I guess I kind of skipped over that part when I was explaining things to you." She smiled at me innocently before continuing. I had noticed that she hadn't let go of my hands yet, though hers were rubbing mine a bit more in what I could only assume to be unease. "Well, some of my family members have powers."

"You mean other than the whole super speed and strength?" She laughed a little.

"Yes, other than those. We believe that each of our powers come from our human lives. Almost like becoming a vampire amplified things that we could originally do. Edward, for example, was extraordinary at reading people as a human. Now, he can read minds. Jasper can feel and control emotions. Emmett is incredibly strong, even for a vampire." She paused then, avoiding the one that I really wanted to know about. I decided to let it slide for the time being because I was curious about the others.

"So Edward can read minds? Like, all the time?" She seemed to understand what I was getting at.

"Pretty much, yeah. Though, he can't read yours. No one knows why, but he can't. It's like you have some kind of barrier up that he can't get past." She shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "That's why he always seems a bit testy around you. He's frustrated that he can't read you like he can with others. He relies on his mind reading a lot more than he should sometimes." She shook her head as if that disappointed her.

"And you?" She looked at me quickly and glanced away again.

"I can see the future. Though my visions are always subject to change. The future isn't set in stone." She seemed frustrated about something as she said this, but quickly changed her expression as she looked back up at me from the corner of her eye. "Bella?" She looked at me questioningly as I took this all in.

"So you can see what's going to happen before it happens?" She nodded. "And that's how you saw me years ago?" Another nod. "How many years ago?"

"Quite a few, actually. I saw that you were going to come to Forks, though I didn't know why. I don't see the reasons and choices behind what happen, just the outcome." I nodded in understanding before looking down at our linked hands.

"Alice?" She gently squeezed both of my hands, letting me know she was listening. "Why did you seem so anxious before? When you said you saw me years ago?" She sighed and I looked up at her. "I mean, if it was only a vision you could have just told me. Why the backtracking?" Alice bit her lip nervously, thinking over what she should say. I waited quietly, knowing that whatever she would tell me would be important.

She looked me in the eye as she began. "I don't think I'm ready to explain that yet, Bella. But I will soon. I promise." I was hesitant to let this conversation go, but decided it was probably for the best as of now.

"Alright. But we are going to talk about it." She nodded before a sly grin came across her features.

"So… you think I'm beautiful?" I blushed as I realized what I had said just minutes ago. I tried to pull my hands out of her grasp, but she just held on tighter. "Come on, Bella. You can tell me." Her grin kept getting bigger as she inched closer to me. I stuttered trying to find words as my face flushed more.

"I… uhm… I…"

"Just spit it out, Bella. Get it out in the open." She was now just inches from my face. How I was supposed to think with her this close, I wasn't sure. I swallowed once and glanced away from Alice.

"Yeah, I do… You're absolutely stunning." Her smile quickly turned from sly to extremely happy as she let go of my hands and threw her arms around my neck. I hadn't thought that telling her that would make her this happy. She must have heard it everyday from people around her.

She pulled back her head a little so that her mouth was next to my ear. "Thank you, Bella. You have no idea how happy hearing that from you makes me." I laughed a little, turning my head to see her better. Apparently she had wanted to kiss my cheek at that exact moment. Our lips connected and I froze, as did Alice. Neither of us pulled away, though. I didn't know that a vampire could be surprised, but I think Alice was just that for a moment. As soon as I could think clearly, I pulled away a little, looking at Alice questioningly.

She pulled away completely from me, unwrapping her arms from around my neck and moving back to her seat. She fiddled with her hands in her lap, as she tried to find words to say. I, stupidly, just continued to stare at her surprised. "Bella, I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—" I cut her off by putting my hand on the back of her neck and pulling her back to me, pushing my lips against hers once again. She was still for a moment, but reacted quickly and began to kiss me back. Her lips were cold, but soft and felt amazing against my own. I didn't want to, but a minute later I pulled away, resting my forehead against hers.

"Don't ever apologize for that ever again." She giggled at me.

"Good to know." She kissed me again softly before pulling away and buckling back into her seat. I did the same before starting the truck back up. Alice once again grabbed my hand once we were settled, lacing our fingers together.

I looked over at her. "Ready to go, then?" She nodded with a smile that I returned. I really didn't know what was ahead of me just a few miles ahead, but I knew that the smile on my face wouldn't be wiped off easily.

I was wrong. I was dead wrong. As I pulled up in front of the Cullen's house, my smile had been long since gone. Not forgotten, but gone nonetheless.

The Cullen house was huge. It was more like a mansion than anything else. It sat in the middle of a small meadow-like clearing. Half of it was covered in windows, so it was easy enough to see into if looking in the right areas. But, being in the front, I couldn't very well see into it. Alice looked over at me from her seat beside me, gently squeezing my hand that she had yet to let go of.

"Are you ready, Bella?" She seemed more than willing to let me turn back around and save this for another day. I was half tempted to take her up on that, but I knew I'd keep running away if I didn't do this now. So I nodded. I didn't try to speak because I was sure my voice would shake out of nervousness. I felt Alice's hand leave mine, and the next thing I knew, she was holding my door open for me. She again offered me her hand, which I eagerly took before climbing out of my truck. I think I may have muttered a thank you, but I wasn't sure.

Alice led me up the front steps to the door. We stopped right outside it, Alice turning to me once more and asking if I really wanted to do this now. I gathered all the bravery in me that I could muster before answering with a determined "Yes". Amazingly, my voice was clear and seemed sure even to my ears. Alice nodded once, opening the door and letting me in. We walked into the entryway, Alice never once letting go of my hand.

"We're here," she spoke out. I had thought she was speaking to me, but was proven wrong moments later when what I assumed were all of the Cullen's were standing mere feet away from us. I tried to remain calm, but my heart was thundering in my chest. Being in a room full of vampires, I wouldn't have been surprised if every one of them had heard it. "Bella, this is my family. Everyone, this is Bella." Everyone wore a smile except for Edward and Rosalie. Jasper looked as if he was trying, but couldn't. In fact, he looked as if he was holding is breath. They all seemed to want me to make the first move, so I stepped forward a little, keeping my vice grip on Alice's hand.

I took a deep breath, praying that my voice wouldn't shake. "It's nice to meet you all. Alice has told me almost nothing about you." I let out a small smile, hoping that they would catch the intended joke. Alice giggled behind me, and Emmett boomed out a laugh. All the other Cullen's, sans Rosalie, smiled. Edward even seemed to be trying to keep in a smile.

"Well then, I guess it would only be proper to introduce ourselves," the woman who I could only guess was Alice's mother, for all intents and purposes, spoke up. "I'm Esme, Alice's mother." She reached out and grabbed my free hand, shaking it in a way that I could only describe as warm. Her smile was the same: warm. Everything about her screamed mother.

"It's really nice to meet you, Mrs. Cullen."

"Just Esme, dear. No need to be formal." She smiled again at me as she took a step back and let the head of the house step forward.

"My name is Carlisle, and you've already met my wife. The rest of the family seems pretty closed mouth, and you'll have to excuse them. Their manners seem to have been lost." He glanced over at his children with a small glare before turning back to me with a fatherly smile. "I'm sure you know all their names already, though." I nodded, letting him know that I indeed did, and took a step back to be beside Alice once again.

"It really is nice to meet you all. Formally, that is. Hearing rumors probably isn't technically meeting, is it?" Again, Emmett laughed as Carlisle and Esme smiled. Alice squeezed my hand once again, reassuring me that she was still right there with me.

"No, I guess it isn't," Carlisle said with amusement in his voice. "Alice, why don't you show Bella around the house?"

Alice nodded eagerly before pulling slightly on my hand. "That's a great idea. Let's go, Bella." She headed toward the stairs, and I followed quickly, still clinging to her hand.

"Bella?" I stopped a few steps up the stairs and turned to look back down at who was speaking to me. Surprisingly, it was Jasper. Edward was standing close behind him, almost protectively. The rest of the Cullen's had already disappeared.

"Yes, Jasper?" He nodded as if he appreciated that I had actually stopped and addressed him.

"It was really nice finally meeting you. I hope we all get to know you better." He smiled at the end. I hadn't noticed before, probably because he had never spoken to me, but he had a slight southern accent.

I smiled at him, hoping he'd see the sincerity in it. "I do too, Jasper." He nodded and turned to walk away. Edward stayed a moment longer, still looking up at me before turning to follow. When I turned around, Alice seemed surprised. A giant grin broke out on her face before she turned back around and led me the rest of the way up the stairs. When we had reached the top of the stairs, she whipped around to face me again, grabbing my face between her hands.

"That was amazing, Bella!" I looked at her questioningly. "That whole thing downstairs. Not only did you step up and take care of yourself, but you actually got Jasper to talk to you. Jasper! He's the quietest one of us when it comes to strangers." I smiled a little after hearing this. Alice's grin grew again as she watched me take in what she just said. We stood like that for a moment longer before Alice calmed down and looked me directly in the eye, a smile still on her lips. "You're amazing, Bella." With that, she leaned in a kissed me softly before pulling back. My eyes had hence closed, and I hummed when I felt her pull away.

"What was that for?" I asked quietly after opening my eyes.

"You." She smiled again as if she had just won something before she reached down and grabbed my hand, leading me once again down the hall.

"Smart ass," I whispered, secretly hoping she'd hear me.

She laughed, letting me know she had.

The tour of the Cullen household was long and yet short. Everything seemed to go by faster with Alice around. We started with the rooms on the second floor, which included almost all of the bedrooms. Esme and Carlisle had a room on the first floor.

Alice seemed eager and yet nervous for me to see her room. I hadn't had a chance to look into anyone else's rooms; we both agreed that doing so was invading personal space. This being decided, the walk down the hall took almost no time at all as we passed by closed doors. Alice did let me look around in the study, which was also huge. Books covered three of the walls, the only one without any being the furthest, which was a floor to ceiling window. I stood in the middle of the room, awestruck.

"I'm guessing you like it?" Alice asked from behind me, sounding a little smug. I turned to her, my mouth still slightly open in amazement.

"Like it? I love it!" Alice's smile got bigger as she heard this. "Where did you get all of these books? There must be thousands, most older than anyone living."

"Well, I wouldn't say that. There are plenty of beings out there that are hundreds of years old." She smirked at me as I glared playfully at her. "We've just acquired a lot over the years."

"Who has the most?" I asked out of simple curiosity.

She thought about it a moment, as if she was counting them quickly in her head. "Probably Carlisle. He has a lot of medical books in here." I nodded in understanding as I looked over her shoulder at the shelves of books. "But both Jasper and I are probably close seconds. Jas with all his history books, and me with everything else." She laughed a little at this as she examined the books as well, walking over to stand next to me.

"Wow." It was all I could say. I hadn't known that all of the Cullen's were such big readers, but given that they are vampires, it really shouldn't have surprised me. We stood in silence for a moment more before I spoke. "So you like to read… what else do you do to entertain yourself?" It was just a question, but Alice got a mischievous glint in her eye as she looked over at me. I suddenly got a little nervous.

"Well Bella, that would be a long list of activities. I love music, both playing and listening to it. Drawing is always a lot of fun, like designing clothes. We all have a love for baseball." I looked at her oddly, not being able to see a family of vampires playing baseball. "We'll have to bring you sometime." I nodded and she continued. "And of course shopping." She got a huge smile on her face, and I realized where my unease was coming from before. I hated shopping. It was a well-known fact that I only did it when I absolutely had to. Of course I had to have feelings for someone who seemed to love it. "I'll have to bring you along for that sometime as well," she snuck in at the end before quickly dragging me back out into the hall. I decided that I'd have plenty of time to complain about that later and let it slide.

Alice led me the rest of the way down the hall and stopped outside of yet another closed door at the end. "And this is…?" I prompted. She seemed a little nervous again as she answered.

"My room." She pushed the door open and motioned for me to enter before her. I did and was stunned by what I saw.

The room was incredibly Alice. Two of her four walls were glass windows, the one directly across from the door and the one to the right. The other walls were a smoky-blue color that made it seem like the sky was continuing all around. To the left, there was a set of double doors which I could only assume led to a closet. Also against that wall sat a medium sized vanity desk. The mirror on it was lined with photos of Alice's family and other odds and ends. In the corner to our left was a huge sound system that included a turntable, CD player, cassette player and other stereos. In the opposite corner to our right was a drawing table that had papers strewn all over it of sketches that Alice must have been working on. In the center of the room sat a large four-post bed. I honestly had no idea why Alice had it seeing as she didn't sleep, but I didn't bother asking.

"So… do you like it?" Alice asked hesitantly. I think I may have been quiet for a bit too long. I nodded before turning to face her.

"Alice, this is… wow. It's very, very you." She giggled at that.

"Is that a good thing?"

"Very," I smiled at her. A smile overcame her face as well, and she eagerly grabbed my hand and walked me a bit further in.

She turned to face me abruptly. "I'm really glad you like it, Bella. But this isn't even the most impressive part." A mischievous gleam came across her face again as she led me over to the double doors to the left. She let go of my hand. "Are you ready to see this?" She asked eagerly. She seemed so excited, and I couldn't help the smile that came to my face as I nodded. It was very, very hard to do anything but smile when Alice was happy. Her moods were contagious.

Alice pulled the doors open dramatically and moved out of the way so that I could see. "Ta-da!" she said with a flourish. What I saw wasn't just a closet. It was about three times the size of any normal closet.

"Alice, this isn't a closet. This is a whole shopping mall." She laughed again, which turned my stunned look into a grin. I turned back to her. "Why on earth do you need all of those? Do you ever wear the same thing twice?" She smiled innocently at me before answering.

"Of course I wear things more than once, Bella. That would be a total waist of nice clothing if I didn't." I had walked a bit into her closet and she followed. "But I do like having a variety," she said matter-of-factly. I chuckled before turning to face her fully.

"I do believe that you have plenty of variety in here, Ali." Her face brightened and I wondered what I had said to make her react like that. "What…?" I asked hesitantly.

"You called me Ali." Her smile got bigger, but softer if that's possible. And even if it's not, Alice pulled it off.

I blushed, unsurprisingly. "Oh, uh… would you like me to not call you that? I mean, it just kind of came out." Alice reached out and touched my cheek. Her hand felt amazing against my heating skin.

She waited for me to make eye contact before she answered. "I liked it, Bella. It was a very nice surprise." She leaned in and kissed my cheek, causing me to blush more. I looked away muttering a quiet 'okay' to which Alice giggled at. Her hand was on mine the next minute and she was leading me back out into her room. "There's one more room that I really want you to see, Bella. Now, you have to remember that Edward is the musician of the family, but it's still probably my favorite room." She led me out of the room and back down the hallway. "And I think you're still waiting on an explanation from earlier?" She glanced back at me. I nodded and she faced forward again.

I suddenly got nervous again. I didn't know if I really wanted to know what Alice was about to tell me, but I also knew that I needed to know.

As we walked toward Alice's favorite room, I wondered just what would be revealed.

**A/N: Alright, so that's all for this chapter. I hope you all liked it. I was tempted to put the whole next scene in here, but decided that having a whole chapter for that may actually be for the best. So get ready for that.**

**Review and be loved! Just saying. And thank all of you who have already reviewed. It's greatly appreciated.**

'**Till next time. ^-^**


	11. Shadows in a Fire

**A/N: Alright guys. Sorry this took SO LONG to get up. I just wanted to get it as perfect as I could before I put it up. So I hope it's up to standards and all that.**

**There was one comment that was posted from chapter 4 recently, and I really would reply to you but I highly doubt that you'll read this. **

**ShaneTwin1-2: I'm really glad that I could keep you interested through all 10 chapters. Thanks for reading it all so far! And welcome to the Fire's Angel gang. =)**

**Shaz89: I really can't say that I've ever been told that I'm cheeky, but thank you, haha.**

**Black Lithning: You really are too kind. Thanks for all that you said. This one doesn't have the family really in it, but I do plan on having them in future chapters a lot more. So I hope to stay to their characteristics as much as possible. If I start to go astray, don't stall in telling me.**

**Jezikial: Well here it is. Alice finally telling Bella her secret. Hope it's up to expectations.**

**Alright, that's all the responding for this chapter. And for what you've all waited so patiently for…**

**Read on! ^-^**

Alice stopped in front of me suddenly after a minute of walking. I looked up at her to see why she stopped when I noticed that we had actually stopped right outside of another close door. I must have been so into my own thoughts that I hadn't noticed we had arrived at our destination. Still holding my hand, Alice turned the doorknob and pushed the door open slowly, leading me in.

What I saw was beautiful. It was a very simple room; very empty compared to the others. In the center was a platform that held a grand piano. There was a bookshelf on the left wall that must have held sheet music. I wasn't certain from this distance. Along the same wall hung various stringed instruments – guitars, violins, mandolins and others. There was also a black couch on the right wall. The wall furthest from us as we stood at the door was completely glass, like many other walls in the house. Light from the sun shone through and lit the room.

I walked further into the room, not letting go of Alice's hand. She followed without complaint as I gawked at my surroundings. I wasn't a musician, but I could certainly appreciate fine instruments and music. After a while, I turned to face Alice with a questioning look, waiting for her to explain why this was her favorite room.

"I may not be the musician of the family, but this room has always calmed me. It's just relaxing to be in here," she explained quietly, almost as if too much noise would disturb the tranquility.

"Can you play?" I asked, nodding toward the piano. I realized that she said she wasn't the musician of the family, but it wouldn't have surprised me in the least if she could play. I wasn't disappointed when she nodded.

"Would you like me to play something for you?" she asked, to which I eagerly nodded, indicating that I would. She led me over to the piano and sat down on the bench. I wasn't sure what to do, so I remained standing next to her. Sensing my uncertainty, Alice spoke. "You can sit, Bella." She smiled up to me and patted the space next to her, indicating where she meant. I complied and sat down next to her.

Alice placed her hands on the keys, pausing before she began to play. I sat and listened to every note as her fingers glided effortlessly over the keys, faster and more fluently than I could ever hope to. The piece was beautiful and trying to explain it would be pointless.

Alice finished playing all too soon as she lingered on the last note before resting her hands back in her lap.

"I thought you said Edward was the musician," I stated more than asked, and Alice looked at me.

"He is - the true musician, anyway. I just play a little," she said with a shrug.

I looked at her unbelievingly before saying anything. "Alice, you have got to be kidding me. That was absolutely amazing." I wanted her to believe me. She seemed so self-conscious about herself sometimes. It was humbling. I couldn't understand how someone as beautiful and amazing as Alice could ever be as nervous about themselves as she is.

She looked back over at me with a small smile playing at her lips. "You should hear, Edward, then. He actually composes his own pieces." Again she shrugged.

"I don't think anything could compare to that, Ali. It really was beautiful." She smiled appreciatively at me before standing and offering me her hand.

"Why don't we move to the couch? I have a feeling that it would be better if you were comfortable for this." I nodded and accepted her hand, following her over to the couch.

I was nervous. Sure, Alice's playing had calmed me drastically, but I was still incredibly nervous. That just shows how nervous I was before about this conversation. I still wasn't sure if I actually wanted to hear what Alice was about to tell me. I had a feeling that it would change things, and I wasn't sure if it would be for the better.

We had reached the couch, and Alice sat facing me, her legs crossed in front of her. I faced her as well, leaving one leg hanging over the edge. Alice reached forward and took both of my hands in hers, rubbing them with her thumbs and watching them intently. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it, rethinking how to begin. She did this multiple times before finally looking up at me.

"Bella, I'm not sure how you're going to take this. I've been trying to see what's going to happen, but I can't. I'm going into this blind." She frowned and looked back down at our hands.

I pulled one of my hands out of her grasp and reached up to cup her cheek. "That makes two of us then, doesn't it?" I asked with a small smile. I was nervous beyond words, but it looked as if Alice was as well. She smiled at me and nodded before turning her head into my hand and kissing my palm gently. It was in that moment that I knew that whatever this was, we would get through it. I smiled again at her reassuringly and nodded, telling her to go ahead. She reached up, grabbing my hand and pulling it back down to lie between us again, both hands held once again in hers.

"I told you earlier that I had seen you years ago. I did see you in a vision; I didn't lie to you about that. But…" she hesitated and I knew that once she said this, we wouldn't be able to turn back. "That wasn't the only time I saw you." She paused again, letting this sink in. I squeezed her hands gently, asking her to continue. "We've met in person before, Bella. More or less, anyway. We were never formally introduced." She was avoiding telling me the main part of this. "Alright, I guess I should start from the beginning.

"Years ago, I had a vision of you with your parents. I had no idea why I was having a vision of a girl that I had never met, so I ignored it at first. But the visions of you kept coming back. It must have gotten to the point where I would have at least five a day. I had no idea who you were, and I was beyond confused as to why I kept seeing you.

"I began to expect them and wait for them in anticipation. I was growing attached to you without even having met you, and I knew that I had to find you." She paused, looking up at me again, making sure that I was still following. "I had told Jasper about seeing you, and he could feel my desire to find you. He didn't try and stop me, though he did say we would have to speak to the entire family first. They disapproved, naturally, Rosalie being the most adamant against me going. So I stayed.

"I remained with my family for a few months, simply living off of my visions of you. I saw you with your father, going out to eat, and with your mother, helping her when she needed it. My visions became like a drug, and I couldn't go a day without seeing one of you.

"Months passed, and my longing to go find you only grew. Jasper felt it and was becoming tenser because of it. My family remained firm and would not let me go find you, though. It finally came to having one of them with me at all times, making sure that I didn't run to find you. It was a bit ridiculous, actually." She chuckled a little and looked back down at our hands before continuing.

"I saw another vampire one day. And he was traveling in the towns surrounding yours. I started to become even more anxious to get to you. I just had to see you once to make sure you were safe." She paused again, quickly glancing up at me before locking her eyes on our hands once again. "It was becoming more difficult for my family to keep me with them. Jasper was my only confidant during that time. He would remain by my side every day, making sure that I was okay.

"And then one day, I saw a fire… It had consumed a small town in Arizona, and no one had survived." Alice squeezed my hands gently. "It wasn't to happen for a couple of days, but I knew I had to get there and stop it. I began hoping and praying, something that I never do, that it wouldn't happen. That whatever led to it would change. But the vision never changed. I kept seeing the fire. And I finally snapped. I had to get to you.

"I left without telling anyone, planning to go on my own. But Jasper had other plans. He sensed my turmoil and made sure to keep an even closer eye on me. So when I made a run for it, he was there. He ran the entire way to Arizona with me, making sure that I was safe; making sure that you were safe." Alice still wouldn't hold my gaze, and I was actually kind of thankful for that at the moment. I had tears in my eyes. I could feel them, and I didn't really want her seeing me that way.

"When we finally made it to Arizona," she continued, "we were too late. The fire had already started and was consuming the entire neighborhood you were in. I was terrified. Jasper tried sending me waves of calm, but it didn't help. He told me he'd go and get you, but I wouldn't let him. I didn't want him getting hurt." She sighed again. "Before he could run in, I did. I ran straight to your house and up to your room. You were on the floor, collapsed. I was afraid I was too late. But then I heard your labored breathing and I knew you were still alive. I ran to you and picked you up. I had to get you out of the house as quickly as possible. Losing you would have meant losing myself.

"When I got outside, Jasper was there, trying to keep the fire at bay long enough to let me get out with you. We both ran. I was going to take you with me, but Jasper reasoned with me. We decided that it would be best for you to remain in a human environment. So I ran you back to the ambulance. I placed you beside it, and ran back to Jasper. When I got to him, I had a vision of seeing you again." Tears were freely falling down my face now. "I knew I'd see you again, so I let you go."

Alice looked up at me, finally, when she was finished. She seemed hesitant to do so, and I couldn't really blame her. I just found out that she was there during the fire. That she could have prevented it if she had just come sooner. And not only that, but she could have kept me with her. I wouldn't have had to go through losing Ryan, too. I didn't understand it - any of it. I didn't understand why Alice had to leave me then. Why she came so late.

Tears were still falling and Alice looked like she wanted to wipe them away. She looked as if she was almost in pain. "Please, say something, Bella," she whispered out. She looked back down at our hands, tightening her grip on me. I think she felt that I wasn't holding on anymore, but instead had my hands simply resting on hers.

"Why…?" It was all I could manage. Anything more than one word seemed impossible for me right now. I wasn't sure if she'd understand what I was asking, but she answered anyway.

"Bella, you have to understand that I was confused. I didn't know who you were or who you were going to be to me. And my family was so adamant about me not going to you, although I can't really blame them for me not going. I could have left anyway…" She trailed off before she took a deep breath. "Bella, I wanted you to be able to live your own life until we were actually supposed to meet. I didn't want to get in the way. But when I saw that fire, I couldn't stay away anymore. No one could keep me away from you. I didn't ever want to leave you again once I had you with me. But you were still so young and you deserved to have a chance at a normal life. But, I didn't know what would happen after I left you. If I had known about Ryan, I would have done something…" She ended uncertainly, looking up at me quietly.

She answered almost every 'why' I could think of, and I was still confused. Maybe not confused. Perhaps I was just shocked.

"Bella, please speak to me." I hadn't noticed that I was quiet for so long. It must have been fifteen minutes. We sat in silence for a moment longer as I gathered my thoughts.

"So…" I paused, wiping away my tears and composing myself. "You thought it would be better for me to be by myself than to be with you?" I looked up at her to find her eyes filled with unshed tears. Her voice sounded shaky when she answered.

"I honestly didn't know what had become of your parents when I left you. I thought that you still would have had someone with you, Bella. I didn't know you'd be alone. I wouldn't have left you if I had known. I swear, Bella. You have to believe me." Her stare was so intense that I really couldn't doubt her.

It still hurt to think about that day. It hurt a lot. I took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I had stopped crying, surprisingly, and as I looked back at Alice, I saw pain evident in her features. She thought I was mad at her for leaving me. The sad thing was that I was a little.

I was mad that Alice had left me alone. _But she didn't know you were alone_.

I was mad that Alice didn't save my parents. _But she didn't know where they were._

I was mad that Alice had saved me and no one else. _But she saved you because she cared for you._

I was mad that Alice hadn't told me this sooner. _What was she supposed to do? Just randomly bring it up in class?_

What was I really mad at Alice about? _What indeed?_

My thoughts battled back and forth. Alice had let go of my hands and turned so that her feet were placed on the floor. She leaned her arms on her legs and hung her head. She looked so sad… so very sad.

"Alice…" I reached out for her, but she didn't move. I didn't want her to be sad. I knew that much. It tore me apart to see her upset. I couldn't take it so I moved closer and collapsed against her. My head buried against her shoulder, I wrapped my arms around her tightly, holding her to me. "Alice…" I repeated louder, before the tears began falling again.

Alice didn't move to embrace me. But she was sobbing.

Sobbing tearlessly for me - for what we've both been through.

What seemed like hours later, Alice reached up one hand and grasped mine. She didn't move other than that, but she held onto my hand like her life depended on it.

And we were there for each other.

Alice sobbed.

And I cried.

**A/N: Alright, that's it for this chapter. Next chapter will clear up a bit more on details and all, but I think this one was a good basis for the big secret. I really hope it was up to all of your expectations. I know it took a while to get up, but I really did want to get it as close to perfect as I could for ya'll. So I hope it is that.**

**The piece I was thinking of in there was Yiruma's "Rive Flows In You" if you were wondering.**

**Leave your comments, please!**

'**Till next time! ^-^**


	12. Finding Comfort

**A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry this one took so long to put up. I've had a busy week, and it's only the start of three busy weeks. So I'll try to keep posting, but I'm not sure how often I'll be able to the next couple of weeks. But do not fret. I will most definitely keep this story going until the end.**

**Jezikial: Yeah, I understand what you're saying about the longing and all that. It was actually kinda hard to have Alice explain all of that in a decent way, so I'm glad you liked it. And a question for you: Is your profile pic Hailey Williams? Because it sure looks like it and if it is, I just wanted to let you know that Paramore is amazing.**

**Shaz89: Yep, that's what I was trying to portray. And no worries, Bella's not going to be mad at Alice. Is that even possible? Hahaha**

**Bleed4her: Sorry! If I didn't need to keep some people hanging, then I wouldn't, but I kinda have to in order to keep people interested and coming back.**

**Ryoshu: Welcome to the Fire's Angel gang, then. Glad you're joining the readers in this. Hope you're enjoying it and continue to read. **

**Ethans mom: Thanks! I was really trying to get everyone's emotions right in that, and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. **

**Alright, so that's all the commenting back I'm going to do. And now on to what you're all here for…**

**Read on! ^-^**

I don't know how much time passed before Alice and I collected ourselves. It could have been minutes, hours, days. Time didn't seem to matter at all, and it went by without my noticing. By the time I had let go of Alice, it was already dark outside. We hadn't turned on a light in the room, so the only light coming in was the moonlight through the window. It gave an eerie glow around the room, and yet was calming at the same time.

Alice hadn't looked at me, even after I sat up and moved away from her slightly. She looked as if she was ashamed, which I guess she was. She did, after all, have this secret that she was keeping from me and keeping to herself and Jasper for years. It must have been hard on her, not knowing what had actually happened to me after the fire, and I could sympathize. That didn't entirely mean that I understood her reasoning, but I was trying. I knew that it wasn't really her fault for everything that happened, though it was most definitely easier to blame her. In all honesty, I wanted to blame her. I wanted to have someone to blame for everything that happened to me, and Alice was just sitting there, waiting for me to yell at her.

I took in all that was Alice in that moment. She was sitting in front of me, feet on the floor with her elbows resting on her knees, holding her head in her hands. Her hands were clenching and unclenching in her hair, and from what I could see, it looked as if she was grimacing. She shook her head back and forth every so often as if she was trying to rid herself of the memory. We both knew it was impossible for that to happen.

My thoughts wouldn't come under control. They were scattered, and yet focused. It was very confusing, and I found myself wanting to rid myself of my memories as well. I decided that the silence was fine for now and relived what Alice had just told me, trying to grasp everything. It was hard to remember everything, but I didn't want to forget anything. The visions she spoke of, her confidence in Jasper as a friend and brother, her family's reluctance to let her come to me, her final vision that made her come to me anyway, the other vampire, Alice saving me and Jasper helping. I didn't want to forget any of it.

The story kept running through my head and it eventually came just that – a story. It didn't seem real to me anymore. I may have just been in shock, but I found that I really just wanted to move past it. Nothing could be changed now, and though life was hard, it's what made me who I am now. And though I really wish I still had my parents and Ryan with me, I like who I am now.

Coming to my semi-firm conclusion, I decided that it would be best to break the silence that had taken over the room. Alice still hadn't made a sound and had become statuesque. I don't even think she was breathing, and in all honesty it was scaring me a little. I didn't know how to even begin any form of conversation, or if a conversation would even be good right now, but I knew I had to say something so Alice knew that I wasn't mad at her.

I got up from my place next to Alice and went to kneel in front of her, my face inches from hers. Reaching up from my position, I placed my hands on Alice's forearms, gently pulling on them telling her to put them down. She did, but her head remained bowed. Wanting her to look at me, I moved to place my hands on either side of her face, but she spoke before I could, surprising me. I froze in mid-motion.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I'm so, so sorry," she repeated over and over. She looked up finally, leaning forward and resting her forehead on my own. Her eyes were closed and she kept repeating that she was sorry. I felt a single tear fall and hit my leg before I finally spoke.

"Thank you." Alice opened her eyes and leaned a little away from me with a questioning look on her face. "Thank you for being there, Alice. Thank you for telling me. Thank you for not listening to your family. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for being you." I stopped, not knowing exactly what else I was thanking her for, but knowing that there was most definitely more. "Just thank you." I smiled weakly, trying to show her that I was being sincere.

Alice nodded and pulled me into her, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back just as tightly. She was silent for a moment before she spoke.

"Thank you for understanding, Bella," she whispered in my ear. Her cool breath sent a shiver down my body. It wasn't a bad shiver in the least, but Alice seemed to have thought it was. She leaned back with a playful smile adorning her lips. "Too cold for you?" Her smile stayed on her face, but I think she may have been a little worried that she actually was too cold. I pretended to think over my response, over dramatizing with a hand stroking my chin.

"Never," I said simply before basically tackling her to the couch in another hug. Alice laughed a little before wrapping her arms around me and holding me to her. I was perfectly content with staying as we were for a while longer, and Alice seemed to agree as she picked me up and laid us down on the couch, still gripping onto each other. I was so comfortable that I began to doze off in Alice's arms. She didn't seem to mind, but spoke moments later.

"Would you like to stay the night, Bella? My parents wouldn't mind, and there isn't very much time until morning, anyway." I smiled lazily up at her, half asleep, and nodded. She laughed quietly at this. "Maybe we should move you to my room, then?" She smiled sweetly down at me. I wasn't entirely sure because I was half asleep, but I could have sworn that I saw love shining in her eyes. Not wanting to make a fool of myself, I didn't mention it.

Realizing I should probably answer, I scrunched up my face in a small pout. "But I'm comfortable here…" I trailed off as I snuggled closer into Alice. Again, Alice laughed as I allowed a smile to form on my lips. I glanced up at her, seeing that she was staring right back at me. Suddenly, I realized that I was being much more forward than I had ever been in my life, and began to blush profusely before pushing myself away slightly. I wasn't ready yet to let go of Alice completely. She laughed again before pulling me back into my previous position gently.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked with mirth. She obviously didn't mind my forwardness, but I decided it be best that I say something about it.

Ignoring her question, I spoke as surely as I could be while half asleep. "You do realize that I'm not normally like this when I'm awake, right?" She nodded before I continued. "So don't get used to this. Fully awake Bella may not want to make you feel uncomfortable by doing something you don't want. Alright?" I yawned out the last question while turning in her arms and pressing my back into her chest. I hadn't failed to notice how perfectly we to fit together.

"Alright…" I could hear the smile in her voice as I felt her lean closer to me and put her lips by my ear. "But what if I want you to?" I'm pretty sure she was taking advantage of my sleep induced honesty spiel, but I was too close to sleep to care.

I turned my head so that I was able to see her. "Then maybe it will be happening more often," I answered before leaning up and lightly brushing my lips against hers. She smiled as I lay back down before returning to her former position behind me.

"Sleep, my Bella. You're safe with me," was the last thing I heard from her before falling into a heavy sleep in her arms.

**APOV**

Watching Bella become more and more tired was indeed a sight to see. She became blatantly honest when she was tired, and I did intend to use that against her in the future. I smiled to myself as I watched the beautiful girl in front of me sleep, my last words to her echoing in my mind. I wasn't sure when Bella had become my Bella, but it had happened. To me, at least. When she's fully awake, I'm sure she'll say something about it, and I wasn't sure if it would be a good or bad thing. We hadn't actually talked about what we were to each other, but I was sincerely hoping that Bella wanted to be with me, as I wanted to be with her.

My thoughts had consumed me for Lord knows how long, before I was brought back to reality by the door silently slipping open. I knew that the rest of my family would be up seeing because we didn't sleep, but I hadn't thought any of them would venture in here knowing that Bella and I were still occupying the room.

"Hello, Jasper," I whispered quietly knowing that he'd hear me even though he was over by the door still. He moved over to us and sat down in front of the couch on the floor. I leaned up slightly so I could see him better over Bella, but otherwise remained in the same position. I didn't want to disturb Bella in any way.

Jasper smiled warmly at me, taking in the sight before him, before he spoke. "I'm guessing you told her, then?" he inquired quietly, with his soft smile still in place. I nodded, not wanting to speak more than necessary. "And she didn't leave?" His smile lessened minutely and I noted that he was genuinely confused as to why Bella wouldn't want to leave after learning the truth. In all honesty, I was surprised that she wanted to stay as well.

"No, Jazz. She was upset for a while, as was I, but she stayed with me the entire time. I don't think that she wanted to leave at all, honestly. I'm not sure why, but she seemed to want to stay with me, even knowing the truth." His smile returned as he watched Bella sleep in my arms.

"She is indeed a paradox, isn't she?" He chuckled before looking back up at me. A smile remained firmly on my lips as I held Bella to me. "Alice, Edward has yet to get anything from her. No one can read her expressions. When she came in the house, I sensed that she was calm, but nervous. She was sure, yet confused. I don't understand her. Edward is getting more and more frustrated that he can't read her mind. He's worried that she's going to do something to expose us to the other humans. The whole family's worried, Al." I sighed, looking back down at the sleeping beauty in my arms, my smile automatically increasing as I watched her.

"Bella is confusing, that's for sure, Jazz. But I know she wouldn't do anything to implicate the family. Her unpredictability is one of the many characteristics that make her so… alluring to me." I struggled to find the right words, but Jasper understood what I meant. He smiled at me as he stood up and moved so he was hovering over us.

"I know, Ali. You care very deeply for her, and I can tell she does for you as well. Don't let this one go. I have a feeling that she'll be able to help more than just one resident in this house." He leaned down and kissed my forehead before turning to head back to the door. As he passed through the doorframe, he leaned back in with a playful grin. "And you do know that I knew that all along, right? I was just humoring everyone else by talking to you about it. So I better still be your favorite brother." He winked at me as we heard a shouted 'hey' coming from Emmet somewhere in the house.

"Of course, Jazz," I laughed out as he pulled the door shut behind him. Moving back to my original position behind Bella, I got comfortable again. Jasper had always been my confidante and best friend ever since I can remember. When I first got a vision of him, I knew that I wouldn't be able to live a life without him. Not in a romantic sense in any way, but still. And when we found each other shortly after my visions of him began, we connected instantly. We were inseparable from that point forward. I always knew I could go to him for anything, and he to me. We had an understanding that none of the rest of our family had with us. Not to say that we weren't all incredibly close, but Jasper and I had something more.

As I lay there, I realized that I did have the support of my entire family. Even if they didn't agree with me all the time, they did support what I decided to do. And I knew then that they wouldn't cause too much trouble for Bella and I if she did decide to stay with me. I also knew that I would have to give them time to get used to this. My siblings weren't used to being around people more than at school, and if Bella does decide to stay with me, she'll be here a lot more often. I had no doubt in my mind that she would meld into my family easily after everyone became less tense around her. They would just need time.

I smiled again to myself as I pulled Bella closer to me gently, breathing in her sent.

Yes, we would all just need time.

**A/N: Alright, so that's it for this chapter. I know it wasn't as long as other chapters, but I tried too keep it interesting. Hope you guys liked the change of POV there and that I did Alice justice in that. Uhm…. I think that's it. Leaving comments would be incredibly appreciated.**

**So… 'Till next time. ^-^**


	13. Crossing Paths

**A/N: Okay, so here's the next chapter. Sorry in advance about the changes of POV. The next chapter will probably be an even split between Bella and Alice, and less flip floppy.**

**Black Lithning: You're commitment to this story is amazing. Thank you so much. Thanks for the two reviews in one. They made me smile. Hahaha. And I really wanted to portray everything in those two chapters as clearly and accurately as possible. Alice telling Bella the truth was actually one of the hardest concepts to develop, but I'm glad you liked it. And I really wanted Jasper and Alice to still have a close relationship. I'm just glad that it came across right. **

**Bleed4her: I think you're the first person to ever say I have made a beautiful update. I just thought I'd let you know. Thank you so much! ^-^**

**Jezikial: Thanks so much! I was really trying to make that distinction as clear as possible. And in this chapter, as well, I found it difficult to switch between the two. And Paramore is most definitely amazing. You have magnificent taste in music. **

**Shaz89: You know, I agree completely. If Edward were human, he would have constant panic attacks. Which is why I'm really trying to make Alice at least a little more carefree. **

**All right, that's enough for this chapter. The actual chapter is what ya'll are here for anyway, right? So… here you go…**

**Read on! ^-^**

**APOV:**

And time is just what we got. Bella slept soundly in my arms until late morning, barely moving other than the occasional stirring in her sleep. None of my other family members ventured into our sanctuary, knowing full well that they would have to face the Wrath-of-Alice if they woke Bella up from her sleep. I'm certain that Jasper explained our conversation to them in as much detail as necessary, reassuring them that I did, indeed, know the complications that would come with loving a human. And oh, how I knew them.

The whole vampire and human combination was the most definite issue that fell between us. With Bella being the prey and I being the hunter, only problems would arise. But I've found that it gets easier the longer that I'm around her.

The next issue also stems from the vampire/human combination. Because vampires are practically immortal, I would inevitably live much longer than my Bella. Though, that issue could be easily removed with a simple bite, simple being the compromising word. A much-needed conversation would have to be had between Bella and I in the future concerning that subject.

I sighed to myself as I waited for Bella to wake. The sleeping beauty in front of me had no idea of all the issues that would come of us being together. And even though those problems would come, I wouldn't have it any other way. I found that I couldn't live without seeing Bella many, many years ago, with only the promise of seeing her again keeping me from taking her away with me when I first saw her. Bella still had to make the decision to stay with me, though. As of now, I still saw her as a vampire in my visions… and I didn't know how I felt about having her humanity taken from her.

Bella began to stir in my arms as more sunlight slipped into the room. She turned lazily in my arms, facing me with a tired smile on her lips. "Good morning," she whispered out in a sleep-induced haze. I smiled at her before leaning in and kissing her forehead.

"Good morning, Bella. Did you sleep well?" I asked after leaning back again to look at her.

"I did." She smiled before continuing. "That was actually probably the deepest sleep I've had in a really long time." She curled further into me, resting her head against my chest before mumbling out, "You're comfortable."

I laughed at her blatant honesty that had obviously not worn off from the night before. "I honestly don't see how a freezing statue can be comfortable, Bella." I chuckled again at her adorable antics as she tried to burrow deeper into my arms.

"Well, I say you are, and you are," she grumbled out before leaning her head back to stick her tongue out at me.

"Because whatever you say goes, right?" She nodded as if that was definitely how the world worked.

"Of course it does. You should know that by now, Alice," she explained as she stretched. I hadn't let go of her, and she didn't seem to mind as she relaxed again against me. "So, what's on the agenda for today? Any more family I need to meet?" She didn't seem all that eager to move as a small pout formed on her lips.

"No, Bella. You've met all of my family already. But, I do need to bring you back home, at least for a little while. I'm going to need to go out for a little while this afternoon to take care of some things. I'll be back tonight if you'd like to do something, though." I tried to allude to my need to hunt without telling her straight out. She nodded in understanding, obviously knowing what I was trying to say.

Sitting up and releasing herself from my grasp, Bella grumbled out, "Well, I guess that's alright. I'm just going to have a boring day at home. All by myself." She tried to play the pity card, but the smile forming at the corner of her lips betrayed her.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find something to preoccupy yourself with, Bella. Maybe go wreak havoc on the people of Forks." I had sat up beside her by this time and saw as a look that could only be explained as dreadful realization formed in her features.

"Ugh… maybe not Forks." I looked at her questionably, waiting for an explanation. She pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead in frustration. "I just completely forgot that I was supposed to go meet Jake on the Reservation for some sort of campfire tonight. I don't think I can really back out of it…" She trailed off after she noticed that I had frozen next to her. "What…?" she questioned warily.

"The Quileute Reservation?"

**BPOV:**

"The Quileute Reservation?" Alice asked from beside me after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, Alice. Is there something wrong?" I didn't know what had caused her to freeze up like she had, and it was worrying me.

Alice stared off across the room for a minute longer before turning to look at me. "Your friend, Jake, he was the one from yesterday, right?" I nodded, waiting for her to explain why she was acting so odd. Alice stood, mumbling to herself, forgetting that I was in the room. "I can't believe that I hadn't noticed that when I saw him yesterday. It really is quite obvious. And the smell! How did I not connect the dots?" She turned to me, kneeling in front of me and placing her hands on my knees. "Has Jake said anything to you about us, Bella?" I nodded my head before realizing that she wanted an explanation more in depth than that.

"Yeah, he has. He said that you and your family are dangerous, but he hasn't said much more than that." A look of recognition must have come across my features because Alice remained quiet in front of me, staring directly into my eyes.

I don't know why I hadn't realized it before, once I had found out that the Cullen's were vampires. Jake's warning about them being dangerous – he must have known what they are. Or at least, his people knew. But maybe it's just suspicion on their part. Maybe they don't really know what the Cullen's are.

"Alice…" I began uncertainly. "Do… do the Quileute's know what you all are?"

Alice nodded before standing up again and pacing. "Some of them do; the elders. I doubt that your friend Jacob knows as of yet, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he found out soon. He's too young for everything to set in. I think." She paused and turned to me once again. "I need to speak to Carlisle about this. Do you mind if we head back to your house now?" I nodded and stood, motioning for her to lead the way. She grabbed my hand and began to lead me back through the house, letting me stop by the bathroom to get cleaned up before continuing toward the stairs. "As of now, act normal around them all. Just be really careful while you're with them, Bella. Please." We had come to a stop in the middle of the hallway and Alice looked at me with worry shining in her eyes.

"Of course, Ali." That seemed to please her as she turned back around and began walking down the steps.

I had no idea what was going on, but by Alice's reaction, I was certain that it wasn't something good. And as Alice lead the way out to my truck, hopping into the passenger's side with leg bouncing, my worry only increased.

**APOV:**

I had known about the Quileute's since I joined my family years ago. I knew full well of the treaty and of the dangers that came along with living near their land. And when I saw Jake for the first time the day before my night spent with Bella, I hadn't thought anything of it. But with his skin tone and the way he carried himself, I should have known that he was part of the tribe, and was probably soon to be part of the pack. But, because he didn't react to me being so near, he probably hadn't phased for the first time yet.

Carlisle had told me before that the Quileute's are a peace loving people who strive to protect their culture and tribe. The pack is an amplified version of that. And even though they aren't necessarily dangerous, if someone gets them upset, it can be lethal. So to say that I wasn't completely thrilled with Bella going onto their land for the afternoon would be an understatement. I knew that I couldn't confine her to staying with me, though. It wouldn't be fair to her.

Bella glanced over at me for the fifteenth time since we left my house. She was curious as to why I was so anxious, but I couldn't divulge the Quileute secret to her. That's going to be Jacob's job when the time came. And as I smiled slightly at her, she seemed to relax and looked back at the road ahead of her. I took this opportunity to get back to my thoughts before Bella asked some inevitable questions.

I found the most unnerving part of this whole extravaganza to be that I didn't have my visions to rely on. Ever since Bella had remembered about going to the Reservation, I haven't been able to get any visions of her in the near future. I had no idea what would happen to her while she was away from me, and that scared me quite a lot. And the only conclusion that I could come to as to why I couldn't see her would be because of the pack interfering with my visions. I couldn't be certain, though, and added that to my ever-growing list of topics to discuss with Carlisle when I got back home.

Again, Bella looked over at me. When I didn't move to look at her, she heaved a sigh and spoke. "Alice, I don't know what's going on, and I'd really appreciate it if you told me." We were getting close to her house, and I knew that I'd only have to stall for a few moments.

"I would really love to tell you, Bella. You have to believe me when I say that. But, because of certain circumstances, I can't." Bella's house came into view, an old, beat-up Volkswagen parked out front. "But, Jake should be able to help you. Maybe get him to tell you some in depth stories of the Quileute history." Bella only nodded as she pulled up in front of her house and put her truck in park.

After unbuckling herself, Bella turned to look at me, speaking cautiously. "Ali… I know that this is really off topic, but I wanted to ask you about—" a knock on Bella's window cut her off. She looked over her shoulder to see a rather disgruntled Jacob standing outside her door before turning back to me and rolling her eyes. "He looks upset."

"Yes, he does. But, don't forget what you were about to ask." I smiled at her, trying to convey that everything would be all right. "I can come by tonight if you'd like." I was sincerely hoping that she would, but tried not to let her hear that in my voice.

Bella's face lit up as she answered. "That would be fantastic, Alice. I don't know how late I'll be out, but it shouldn't be too late. Come around eleven?" I nodded as Jacob tapped on the window once again. "I guess we better get out then," Bella grumble out before turning to open her door. I mirrored her action and exited the cab of her truck.

After I made my way to Bella's side of the truck, Jake spoke. "Where have you been, Bella? I've been worried sick about you. I called last night to finalize everything about today, but I couldn't get in touch with you. And then when I got here and you weren't here, I didn't know what to think. But now I see that you were otherwise occupied." He shot a glare in my direction after I had joined them, standing beside Bella.

Bella, being rather brave, took a step in front of me as if to protect me from Jacob. Though the action was unneeded, it was still sweet. Jake's face contorted into one of confusion as Bella reached back and grabbed my hand.

"Jake, you could be nice. I do have company, if you can't tell." My Bella glared back at him just as fiercely as he had me. "And you really shouldn't worry. I don't have to report to you everything that I do, Jake. I thought we went through this already."

Jacob held his stance a moment longer before sighing and looking down at his shoes. "I know, Bells. I was just worried when I couldn't get through to you. I'm sorry that I flipped out a bit." Bella scoffed and I found myself impressed with how she could handle someone like Jacob so easily.

"A bit, Jake?" She waited for him to look up at her before continuing. "You should be apologizing to Alice more so than me."

Jacob looked over her shoulder at me, cringed a little, and then said a quick, "I'm sorry." Bella seemed just about to say something, but I cut her off before she could.

"It's alright, Jacob. I'm sorry for keeping Bella out so late last night. Time just flew by and we thought it more reasonable for her to stay at my house instead of her driving back here so late." I smiled as warmly as I could at him. "And as for not being able to get in touch with her, we'll just have to go get her a cell phone. It's a bit ridiculous that she doesn't have one, isn't it?" I laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood. Bella joined in soon after, seemingly relieved that the tension had been lessened, even if only minutely. Even Jacob was trying to hold in a smile.

"Yeah, we'll have to get on that. Maybe then she'll actually stay in contact with the outside world, eh?" Jacob smiled a truly heart warming smile as he began to pick on Bella as well. I laughed once again as Bella blushed before shoving Jacob.

"Alright, alright. Enough with picking on Bella," she huffed as she crossed her arms. Somewhat forgetting the company that we held, I wrapped my arms around her middle from behind, putting my chin on her shoulder. I didn't think it would really hurt to show Jacob that we were close.

"Oh come on, Bella. It's all in good fun. Jake and I were just bonding. Shouldn't you be happy?" I grinned as she scoffed again, although even she couldn't hide the smile forming across her lips. I kissed her cheek quickly before unwinding my arms from her. "Well then, now that that's settled, I believe that I need to get going. I'm supposed to meet Rosalie at the diner in a little while. So if you'll excuse me…" I began to withdraw from Bella, but she grabbed my hand before I could leave.

"I'll see you tonight?" She looked directly in my eyes as if by answering no, I could tear her apart.

I reached my free hand up and placed it on her cheek. "Of course, Bella. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." I smiled briefly before looking over her shoulder at Jacob. "Make sure she doesn't do anything too harmful to herself, okay?" I joked as Bella blushed once again.

"Don't worry about that. I've known Bella for years now and I've pretty much mastered the anti-clumsiness procedure." He smiled at me, becoming more relaxed with Bella and I being so close. I wasn't exactly certain what was going through his mind, but I was sure that he'd say something to Bella about it later, meaning that I'd have to ask her tonight when I came back.

"Alright then." I looked back at Bella before continuing. "Be careful, Bella. I'll see you tonight." Smiling, I brought her hand up to my lips and kissed the back of it. "Until then." I turned and began jogging at a human pace down the street in the complete opposite direction of my house.

About halfway down the road, I heard a quiet, whispered, "Until then," escape Bella's lips.

**A/N: Alright, that's it for this chapter. I am going to update before the week is over, and I'm planning on making it a longer chapter as a thanks for all of you guys staying committed to this story. It is in no way finished, but I won't be able to work on it next week, sadly. I will most definitely be back after the week's over with another update. Promise!**

**I hope you all liked this chapter. Your reviews are always welcome.**

'**Till next time. ^-^**


	14. Myths and Legends

**A/N: So here's the last one for at least a week. I hope it's long enough to satisfy ya'll's hunger for more.**

**Hollowgo: Well thank you. I'm really glad that my story excited you so much. It's greatly appreciated. I hope that this chapter is up to your standards.**

**Svtwilfan: And now you will see! Thanks for your review. ^-^**

**Okay, now you can read the actual story. **

**Here ya go. ^-^**

**BPOV:**

I watched Alice's retreating form until she turned the corner down the street. Yes, I had heard Jacob shuffling his feet behind me, but I couldn't find it within myself to care that he was a bit on edge. When he cleared his throat, I finally turned with a sigh, waiting for the expected verbal thrashing that I was sure would come from him. And he didn't disappoint.

Trying to act casual, Jake asked as smoothly as possible while not making eye contact with me, "So… what's up with you and Alice there? You two seemed close." I rolled my eyes at his nosiness before walking past him and into my house.

"We are close, Jake. I don't really know what we are yet, but we are something. Is that a problem?" I turned to glare at him, expecting him to be a few feet behind me when he was, in fact, only a few inches away. He mumbled a quick apology after I regained my balance from stumbling away from him a little.

"I don't know if it's really a problem, Bella. But, I mean… I thought…" he let his sentence trail off, but I knew what he was alluding to. With a sigh, I replied to his unspoken comment.

"No, Jake. You know that we're only friends and that's all we'll ever be. I love you like a brother. Always have, always will." He looked down to his shoes as a dejected look came across his features. He mumbled something under his breath that I didn't hear. "What was that?"

He glanced up at me before straightening up, trying to be strong in his statement. "I said that she's a girl, Bella. And you're a girl. It's not socially common. Not to mention you just skipped right over me. You didn't even give me a chance, Bella." There was no way that he had mumbled all of that, but he only seemed halfway through the rant that started from my question. "I mean, seriously, why not give you and I a chance? We're perfect for each other. We're comfortable around each other, aren't we?" I nodded after he paused, not knowing exactly how much he was going to say. "And I even asked you to stay away from them, Bells. I know that you said it's your choice and all of that, but I really wasn't expecting you to start up a relationship with one of them…" he continued on in his rant. I hadn't heard the rest of it because I zoned out on his last comment.

A relationship? Is that what Alice and I had? Yeah, I knew we had something, but a relationship? Am I her girlfriend? Well, she did call me her Bella last night, though that could have just been a slip of the tongue. If Jacob hadn't interrupted while we were in the truck, I would have known. But as of now… what were Alice and I?

"Bella?" Jake waved his hand in front of my face, noticing that I had zoned.

"Oh. Sorry," I mumbled out. "What were you saying?"

He looked at me oddly before answering. "Just that the elders won't be happy to hear about you and a Cullen being together… What was that, Bella?" I waved off his question, more intrigued by his first comment.

"Why won't they be happy?" He shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing.

"I've already told you that the Cullen's are trouble, Bells. The elders believe that even more than the rest of us do. So, when they find out, they may try to stop it, but I don't know." He rolled his eyes at the end as if even he found this absurd.

I nodded thoughtfully before leading him into the living room and onto the couch. He sat down at the other end as me, getting comfortable.

"What is it they have against the Cullen's, anyway?" I asked, trying to come across as nonchalant. Again, Jake shrugged.

"It's just some old story, Bella. The elders are really persistent about it being passed down through the generations. I'm sure you'll hear it tonight." He seemed bored with the topic, but I was intrigued.

"Could you tell me some of it now? So I know what all I'm getting into?" He laughed a little.

"Sure, Bella. I'm won't be able to tell it as well as my dad will tonight, though." I nodded, signaling him to continue.

He told me about the cold ones and how they entered the Quileute land hundreds of years ago, saying that his ancestors found them hunting for their next meal. "When the leader of their coven explained that they were different, that they didn't attack humans like previous cold ones that they had come across, the chief believed them. But, with their presence, the gene of the tribe was awoken in a select few. They were the spirit warriors that protected the tribe. Supposedly, because the Quileute's were descendants from wolves, some had the ability to take that form.

But, because the chief believed the coven leader, a treaty was created that stated that as long as the cold ones stayed off of Quileute land, we wouldn't reveal what they really were to the pale faces." He smirked at me, indicated that I was indeed one of these so-called 'pale faces'.

"So, what do the legends say the cold ones actually were?" I asked, trying to see if he knew that the Cullen's were vampires.

"I don't know, actually. It has been passed down that they drink blood to sustain themselves. So my only conclusion would be that they're some kind of vampires. It's just a story, though." He paused, looking down at his hands briefly. "That's not to say that I don't think the Cullen's are dangerous. With everything that the elders have said about them, it's hard not to believe them. Meaning that I still stick by what I said earlier about you being around them."

"Even after meeting Alice?" He thought for a moment before nodding slowly.

"She seems alright… But something just seemed off to me. I'm not sure what it was, but I got a tingling down my spine while she was close. It was weird." He looking confused, but shook it off quickly. "Either way, I think you should be with me." And the old, joking Jacob was back.

I laughed softly and hit his arm. "Not gonna happen, Jake. Get over it." He shrugged innocently.

"Can't blame a man for trying." We both laughed at that, knowing full well that he wouldn't give up after years of trying.

"You know, Jake, I don't know how kindly Alice will take with your constant flirting if we do become something more. Just a warning." Jake just grinned at me as if he had everything already figured out.

"Oh, you won't have to worry about that, Bells. I think I can take her," he said cockily, winking as he finished.

I rolled my eyes at his delusions of grandeur. "You just keep telling yourself that, Jake. All I know is that I would not want to have to face the wrath of Alice." He laughed robustly, louder than was necessary, really.

"Have you not seen these?" he boasted as he flexed his muscles. "I think I could take on the world champ right now and win." He had stood up to further make his point, flexing over exaggeratedly before plopping back down on the couch.

"Of course, Jake; if you say so. Just don't come running to me once you get your ass beat and handed back to you." I patted his shoulder sympathetically, before standing and walking toward the kitchen.

"You know, your lack of confidence in me is insulting!" he shouted after me before getting up and jogging to meet me in the kitchen. The grin he was wearing proved to me that he was not in any way insulted.

I reached into the fridge to get a bottle of water before answering him. "Yeah? And your lack of honesty is insulting." I closed the fridge door and stared at him steadily. In return, he scoffed and threw his hands over his heart, playing the over dramatic card once again. "Uh-huh. Exactly." He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "Shouldn't we get going?"

Jake mumbled something under his breath in defeat while crossing his arms across his chest. "Yeah, I guess. I'll drive."

I laughed at his childishness as I lead the way out to his car.

The drive to the Reservation was quiet other than the radio and the random comment that would be said by either Jake or I. It was a comfortable silence, though. When we were almost to Jake's house, he turned down the radio and glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Bella?" His tone was serious, so I focused my attention on him, nodding for him to continue. "A lot of the tribe will be at this thing tonight, and not all of us get on well…" He paused before sighing. "What I'm trying to say is that this guy, Sam Uley, will be there tonight with his followers. I just want you to stay away from them and close to me."

"Uhm… All right, Jake. But why am I staying away from them?" I inquired curiously from beside him. We had reached his house but remained in his car. Jake cut the engine before turning to me.

"I don't really know what's up with them, Bells. Just listen to me this time when I ask you to stay away from them. Please?" He was alluding to my blatant disregard of his request to stay away from the Cullen's.

I nodded, looking him directly in the eye so that he knew I was being sincere. "Okay. I'll stay away from them." Jake searched my expression for any hint of lying, but seemed satisfied after a moment, smiling at me and turning back into the playful Jake that I knew and loved.

"Let's go in, then. I'm sure my dad will be excited to see you again." His grin only grew as we went into his house and were greeted by what seemed to be the entire tribe.

**APOV:**

I made a loop around Bella's neighborhood after I left her, speeding up my pace after I was out of sight. I had to get home to speak to Carlisle about everything that had been happening. I was certain that he had more than a few things to speak to me about as well.

It didn't take me long to make it home. I stood still in the doorway, listening quietly and trying to hear where Carlisle was and, after figuring that he was in his office, I made my way there, pausing outside the door and knocking lightly.

"Come in," came his reply from in the room. Trying not to show how anxious I was to talk with him, I opened the door fluidly and shut it before walking at a normal pace to the middle of his office. Carlisle was, as always, immersed in paperwork and research that never seemed to end.

After a few long moments of silence, Carlisle sighed and rubbed his eyes before looking up at me. He nodded once, knowing at least some of the reason as to why I was there, and motioned for me to sit in one of the two chairs in front of his desk. I did so quickly, pushing up on the arms of the chair and crossing my legs under me before resting my weight back down.

I began looking anywhere but at Carlisle for fear of seeing disappointment in his eyes at the recent happenings. Carlisle sighed softly again before I heard him get up and make his way around his desk. He leaned against it, facing me and clasping his hands together in front of him. He stood there quietly before addressing me.

"Go ahead, Alice," he spoke very gently, as only a father could. I looked up at him and made eye contact for the first time since I had sat down.

"I know what you're probably thinking, Carlisle, but I didn't really come here to talk about Bella's and my relationship." I didn't want to sound rushed, but I had so many questions for him that I wanted answered.

Carlisle nodded, deeply thinking, before answering me. "Go on, Alice. We can talk about that later." I sighed and smiled at him thankfully. Carlisle always was the most reasonable of the family.

"Thank you." He smiled and nodded once again, indicating that I should say whatever I needed.

And so I began. I told him about Jacob being a member of the Quileute's and how close he and Bella are. I told him of our night last night, leaving out many details, but telling him the main points, and about Bella's decision to go onto the Quileute's land today.

"When Bella had remembered that she was supposed to go with Jacob, I lost all visions of her in the near future. I don't understand why that is…" I trailed off, hoping that Carlisle would interject.

"Can you still see her distant future?" he asked, not entirely sure himself as to what was going on. I nodded slowly before telling him that I could still see glimpses of her later on. "What are your theories on the matter?" Carlisle inquired, trying to piece everything together in his head.

"I'm not sure, Carlisle. At first, I thought it had something to do with me, like it was my fault and I wasn't focusing hard enough. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how unrealistic that seemed." Carlisle nodded his agreement and stroked his chin in thought.

"The Quileute's are a very mysterious people. Their legends are often brushed off as myth, but the majority of them are, in fact, quite real." He thought for a minute as we sat in silence. "You already know about the pack and their aversion to us. They often seem impenetrable when it comes between our lives and theirs. They all have abilities that help them fight off our kind," Carlisle continued, thinking aloud. "Perhaps they also have abilities that we hadn't known about. Abilities that block special traits that some vampires have, such as your visions." He looked to meet my eyes, holding my gaze. I waited for him to continue, but he remained silent.

"That does make sense in a way. But why would it only be my ability that they can block? Why can Edward and Jasper still use their gifts on them?" I looked down at the floor, closing my eyes and trying to think this through.

I hadn't the slightest idea why the pack would have that power over my visions. It's almost as if their nature automatically gave them any advantage over vampires. But, if that were the case, they would be able to block both Jasper and Edward as well. Perhaps they could only block powers that dealt with certain aspects.

The more I thought about it, the more that made sense. Edward's mind reading dealt directly with the mind. Jasper's empathy used the body's chemistry and functions to manipulate emotions. But my seeing focused on actions that people took which would lead them to a final destination.

Carlisle and I had remained quiet for a while, both of us absorbed in our thoughts. I looked up at Carlisle again, sure that he would hear the movement, before telling him the conclusion I had come to.

When I had finished, Carlisle pushed himself off of his desk and began pacing in front of me.

"This is indeed an aspect that should be thoroughly investigated." He stopped and turned to face me. "As for now, go on as you were. You don't think that there's any danger coming, do you?"

I furrowed my brow, trying to focus on any vision that would come indicating that trouble was anywhere near. "No… I don't think so. I can't see anything coming." He nodded and turned back to his desk, moving to sit behind it again.

He spoke after he had seated himself. "You're worried for her," he stated more than asked.

I closed my eyes and sighed, "Yes," knowing full well that he would hear me. "I just… I can't see her. I know that Jacob wouldn't let anything happen to her, but it's just…" I couldn't finish, not knowing exactly what I was trying to say.

Carlisle did, though.

"You love her," he finished for me. I glanced up at him, expecting disappointment to be shining in his eyes, but was pleasantly surprised when I saw a small smile forming on his lips.

I nodded. "Yes, I love her. I know it seems to soon to know that, but I do. You knew you loved Esme the moment you saw her, didn't you?" Esme had told me the story about Carlisle saving her before, years ago. So I knew how Carlisle had made a split decision to change her the moment that he had seen her. He hadn't even known her name, but he knew that he couldn't let her die.

Carlisle chuckled softly before affirming my statement. "Yes, I did." He smiled warmly as he thought about his wife. "And I loved her dearly, even then." He features turned serious once again as his thoughts turned back to what we had been discussing. "Go to her, Alice. I'm sure she's home by now."

I turned to look at the clock on the wall to see that it was almost eleven already. Time passed quickly, without my even noticing it. "How sad it is that time seems to pass so quickly and yet so slowly for us," I observed, not necessarily speaking to Carlisle.

"Sad indeed. But something that will never change." He looked back down at his papers, concluding the conversation, and I stood to leave.

As I reached the door, I turned slightly to face my father figure. "Thank you, Carlisle."

He looked up from his desk and smiled. "Any time, Alice."

**BPOV:**

The bonfire hadn't lasted nearly as long as I thought it would. Jake had started to feel sick, so Billy suggested that the rest of the events be postponed until further notice.

Jake drove me back home, but the drive was incredibly quiet. Every time I looked over at him, Jake's face was scrunched up as if he was concentrating incredibly hard on something in the distance. His breathing became more and more labored, and I wondered if it was actually a good idea to agree to him taking me home. But, he had insisted, saying that not bringing me back home would be rude.

With everything said and done, I had arrived home a little after ten. I didn't expect Alice for another hour or so, so I decided to take a shower. And once I had gotten out and dried off, it was already 11:50, and I knew I didn't have to wait much longer for Alice to get there.

I sat on my bed, waiting as patiently as I could for my night visitor to come. And as my foot began to tap impatiently, I heard a nock on my door and rand downstairs as gracefully as possible.

Alice stood, in all of her glory, on the other side of the door when I opened it, and was all smiles when I let her in.

"Hello, Bella. How are you?" she smiled at me and I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips.

"I'm okay. How are you?" We walked a bit further into the house, me not knowing exactly where she wanted to go.

"Less and more confused," she laughed lightly. I looked at her curiously, waiting for her to continue. She sighed and ran her right hand through her hair. "Why don't we move to somewhere more comfortable?" she asked, pointing upstairs. I blushed, knowing that my room was nowhere near as nice as hers, and that it was in complete disarray.

I nodded nonetheless and began to lead her up. "Don't laugh," I mumbled out before I opened the door to my room. In return, Alice giggled behind me, probably already having seen it in a vision.

And I assume that I was right in that, as Alice walked directly to my desk chair and sat down in it comfortably. "I talked to Carlisle when I got home," she spoke distractedly as she took in all that was my room. "We think we may have figured out why my visions go out when certain people are involved."

"And that would be…?" I prompted, hoping that she would clue me in, but knowing that it probably had something to do with the Quileute's and that Alice wouldn't tell me anything that I didn't already know about them.

"Just that some people have the ability to block it. Other than that, we didn't come to a firm conclusion." She paused before grinning wickedly at me. "But, you still owe me a question, Bella." I blushed, remembering what I was going to ask her earlier today.

"Oh… uhm… you remembered about that, huh?" I asked ineloquently as usual.

Alice giggled before standing and sitting next to me on the bed. "It's very rare that I forget something as important as that, Bella. You seemed rather distracted when you brought it up this morning."

I sighed softly. "Don't you already know what I'm going to ask?"

"Yes and no. You never actually decided on what you were going to ask earlier. So I saw many possibilities," she answered nonchalantly. "But I would very much like to know for certain what it is you'd like to ask." She smiled over at me and grabbed my hand in hers, squeezing lightly.

I don't really know why I was nervous asking Alice about what we were. Maybe I was afraid that she would laugh at me and tell me that we were just friends, or that all of this had been a hoax and that I'd been made a fool of. But, as I looked up at Alice and met her gaze, I saw nothing but trust and respect reflecting back at me. And in that moment, I knew that Alice would never do anything of the sort.

"Ali…" I trailed off, not exactly sure how I wanted to word what I was going to ask. I decided to just blurt it out. Never a good thing for me to do, I realized. "I was wondering what we were. I mean, Jake asked me earlier, and I didn't even know what to answer." I sighed in exasperation at the memory.

Alice laughed. "We are vampire and human. Alice and Bella. Or, should I say, Mary-Alice Cullen and Isabella Marie Swan?" I swatted at her arm, stopping her. She laughed again, probably not feeling my hand at all.

"You know what I mean," I glared at her, trying to get her to stop laughing. It worked… slightly.

Alice clamed down and a soft smile settled on her lips. She reached her free hand up to cup my cheek, brushing her thumb against my cheekbone. "We're whatever you want us to be, Bella. I do know that I would love to be more than friends with you, though. Much more, if you'd like." I turned into her hand, resting against it.

"I think I'd like that. Very much," I spoke quietly, closing my eyes. Alice leaned forward, stopping inches from me.

"Fantastic," she whispered out before closing the distance between us, and kissing me softly, lovingly. I smiled into the kiss, knowing that everything would be great from then on.

When Alice pulled away, we lay down on my bed, our position the same as it was the night before.

"Relax, my Bella," Alice whispered in my ear, her cold breath cooling my skin.

"So I'm your Bella now?" I asked, turning around in her arms, facing her.

"Yep," she answered cheerily, popping the 'p'. She grinned at me, knowing that I didn't really mind.

"Fantastic," I repeated her from earlier, smiling before relaxing in her arms again. I asked about her past, knowing full well that I would never tire of hearing her speak.

**A/N:** **So I hope that was enough to keep you all interested for the week that I'm gone. I'll update as soon as I can. And the plot is about to thicken a lot. So keep an eye out for that. But…**

'**Till next time! ^-^**


	15. Here Comes the Sun

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry this took so long to get up. I've been WAY too busy, but I promise that I'll try to update sooner next time. I'm actually writing this in the car as we drive around. So don't ever think that I don't think of ya'll while I'm out and about. Hahaha.**

**Nightshade88: Well thanks for reading all of that in one sitting. And welcome to the Fire's Angel family. ^-^**

**Lynettecullen: So, I really enjoyed your comments for each chapter as you read them. They seriously made me smile. Thanks for reading and I hope you keep doing so! **

**Black Lithning: Well, all of your questions will be answered soon enough. Promise. And I hope to keep updating more than I have been recently, so that's a plus. **

**Lisaflorence16: Hey! Thanks for reading my story. It's great every time I see a new person has begun to read. I hope you're enjoying it so far.**

**Paradoxalpoised: Thank you very much. I hope this update is up to standards.**

**Alright, so now what you're all actually wanting to read…**

**BPOV:**

"So, tell me something that I don't know about you yet." Alice looked over at me as we rode down the street in my truck. She was sitting comfortably in the passenger's seat next to me, bobbing her head to the music that played softly through the speakers.

Last night, Alice had told me some of what she could remember of her past. She said that she didn't really remember her human life, but told me all she could about her vampiric life before I found myself dozing off in her arms. At that point, she told me to go to sleep, which I did reluctantly.

"I've already told you a lot, Bella. I can't possibly think of anything that you'd want to know that I haven't already told you," she looked perplexed as she answered me.

We were on the way to the grocery store to restock my cabinets. I had told Alice that she didn't need to join me, but she insisted anyway.

"Well…" I thought for a moment, "Were you with any other vampires before you met the your family? It sounded like you were alone during most of your wild adventures that you told me about last night." Alice giggled next to me. She had told me about all the crazy things she had gotten into during her early years, most of which involved performing some crazy feat that only someone insane would even attempt.

"Not really. About a year before I met Carlisle, I had found Jasper. We instantly clicked and began to travel together. I told him about the vision I had of our family now, and he seemed rather interested. So we stuck it out together until it was time to meet them. Other than him, though…" she trailed off, thinking over her past. "Nope, not anyone else. Maybe a couple of acquaintances every now and then, but no long term companions other than Jazz." She smiled over at me.

Alice didn't seem very hesitant to talk about her past. She said that most vampires didn't get a chance to talk to anyone about their past other than those in their coven. Humans weren't supposed to know that they existed, so they couldn't go around telling random people. So she was more than willing to dive into her stories for me.

I grinned at her conspiratorially. "Any other lovers in the mix?" I wiggled my eyebrows, showing her that I was just joking. She laughed lightly at me before pushing my face back to the road.

"You're kidding right? I mean, seriously, do you even want to know?" She kept her tone light, but I could tell she was serious. I nodded, chancing a glance at her and seeing that she was staring right back at me. "Alright then. Well, to be completely honest, I have had, quote-unquote, lovers" she made air quotes around the word. "But they weren't anything special." She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Huh," I mumbled out, still curious but not wanting to push it.

Alice sighed. "Bella, really. They weren't anything special. You just have to understand that a vampire's life can be very lonely. Continuing to live while everyone else around you dies out can be very frustrating at times. So we sometimes take what we can while we can. Though, I can say that I have never had any relations with a human as I have with you."

I couldn't help it; I felt proud, ego boost and everything. I sat up a little higher, grin on my face and Alice laughed. "Don't go getting all cocky on me now, Bella." She laughed again, watching me deflate a little while grumbling.

"Kind of hard to be cocky when you don't even have one…" I mumbled out, more to myself than to her.

"Touché," Alice laughed out. "But you can still be overconfident." She raised an eyebrow as I stuck my tongue out at her. "Really, Bella? You're going to go that route?"

I pulled my tongue back in. "What's wrong with being a little childish every now and then?" I asked.

Alice laughed again. I was actually quite proud that I could make her laugh so often. "Nothing, I guess." She shrugged and looked back out to the road. "Oh, we're here!" she bounced up and down in her seat excitedly as I pulled into the parking lot.

"Alice, calm down. It's just the grocery store." I chuckled as she bounded out of the truck, bouncing up and down on her toes. Rolling my eyes, I climbed out of the cab of my truck and made my way over to her on the other side. "Excited much?" I joked, beginning to walk toward the entrance. Alice ran up beside me and grabbed my hand, dragging me behind her into the store.

To say that food shopping with Alice is entertaining would be an understatement. She examined every item of food that I placed in our cart as we went along. I had let her push the cart as I gathered up all the things I needed. Alice even threw in some things herself, happily adding to my ever-growing pile of food.

"Alice, do you never go grocery shopping?" I asked as we neared the produce section.

"Not for any real reason, no. I've gone with Esme once or twice, just trying to keep the façade up. But never for an actual purpose." She smiled at me as she picked up an apple, asking silently if I wanted some. I nodded and she gathered up another five and put them in a bag. "So this is actually new for me, seeing as I don't remember ever doing it before…" she trailed off, alluding to her human life. I nodded before continuing down the aisle.

"So, do you all forget before you were changed?" I asked, trying to keep out key words that would tip off anyone that may be listening in.

Alice's face fell marginally before she smiled sadly at me. "No, that's just me. I'm one of a kind." She turned and walked further down the aisle, leaving me to jog to catch up to her.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I didn't realize… Does it bother you much?" I asked quietly, hoping not to upset her more.

"Not as much anymore as it used to. Well, that's not true. I guess it used to just be frustrating and confusing. Now that I've built up a new life, I'm not as confused about who I am. I'm still frustrated about it at times, but more than anything I just miss it…" she turned to face me. "I know it sounds weird, missing something I don't even know about, but I do. Especially when everyone else in my family remembers." She looked down at her shoes sadly.

I reached over and cupped her cheek, trying to get her to look at me. "It doesn't sound weird, Ali. And I'm sorry," I said quietly as she finally looked up at me. She smiled softly before turning back to the cart and dancing down the aisle.

"Anything else we need here?" she asked in high spirits. I could tell she was still upset, but she was trying. So I smiled and followed after her.

"Just to pay," I grinned at her antics as we made our way to the front of the store to check out.

"So, I was thinking of showing you something today. It's supposed to be sunny again later on," Alice spoke from the seat next to me once we were back in my truck.

I glanced at her without turning to face her. "And what would that be?" I asked, trying not to show how excited I was to do anything with her.

"Well, I did promise that I would show you what we looked like in the sunlight. So now's just as good a time as any," she answered, grinning.

"Okay then…" I turned down my street, keeping an eye on the groceries in the back. "Sounds good to me." I smiled at her as I pulled up in front of my house. "Want to help me bring this stuff in first?" Alice only nodded in response before jumping out of the cab and racing to the back. She jumped up onto the bumper, barely making the truck bounce, before hopping over the edge and into the bed of the truck.

I climbed out of my seat to go around and get some bags from her, but she had them all on her arms already. "Well then," I sighed out before leading her to the front door. I quickly unlocked it and let her in before me. "Just put that stuff in the kitchen. I need to put the cold things up, and then we can go." She nodded and walked toward the kitchen, me following behind her after putting my bag down.

We quickly pulled all of the cold items out and put them up and were once again moving toward the door to leave.

Alice spoke when we got outside. "Do you mind if we get there a bit faster? No offense, but your truck is rather slow and I don't want to miss the sunshine." I rolled my eyes at her impatience but nodded nonetheless.

"Sure Alice. What'd you have in mind?" She looked around us conspiratorially before reaching her arms out in front of her toward me.

"May I?" she asked, motioning with her arms. I wasn't sure what she was asking, but agreed anyway.

Alice quickly leaned forward and swooped me up in her arms, carrying me bridal style. She looked down at me thoughtfully as I gasped in surprise.

"Would you rather piggyback or this?" She asked as if it was totally normal for someone her size to be carrying someone larger than herself.

"Back," I mumbled back. Alice quickly moved me so that I was securely on her back.

"Make sure you hold on… You good?" She waited for my confirmation before running off, away from my house.

My eyes closed of their own accord as soon as we set off. Alice was running at a faster pace than I had ever gone before. But, as time passed, I slowly pried my eyes open to watch as we passed by the scenery lightning fast.

By the time I had begun to enjoy the speed, Alice was slowing and finally coming to a stop.

"We're here," she whispered. I realized she was waiting for me to loosen my grip as she rubbed my arms lightly. I clumsily climbed down as she giggled. "Have fun?" she asked, taking my hand. I nodded in affirmation as she led me to the cliff we had sat at just days before.

"That was amazing. Can we do it again?" I asked eagerly, hoping that she'd say yes.

Alice laughed before answering me. "If you're good," she answered with a wink. I knew I was acting like a child, but I couldn't care less at the moment. Running with Alice like that had been amazing, and I couldn't hide my joy.

Again, Alice laughed before sitting down on the edge and pulling me down next to her gently.

"So, how long do we have to wait?" I asked, looking up at the overcast sky. I didn't think that the sun would show itself at all today, but from the stories I heard from her last night, I learned not to bet against Alice.

Alice didn't answer me, but instead looked up and closed her eyes. I looked over at her and was stunned by how beautiful she looked - surreal, even. As I watched, the clouds broke apart and sunlight pushed through the cracks.

I watched in amazement as the sunlight danced across Alice's skin. The light seemed to be reflecting off of tiny crystals embedded in her skin. I reached out slowly and stroked her arm, trying to find the pieces of glass that were sure to be there, but felt nothing more than the smooth skin that I always felt.

Alice sat there willingly as I ran my fingers over her skin softly. I dragged my hand up her arm slowly, past her shirt to her neck, resting my hand there. I ran my thumb across her jaw and her cheek, amazed still at how amazingly beautiful the angel sitting in front of me was.

A content sound emitted from Alice as she leant her head into my hand. The sunlight began to fade again, and I knew that this was my last chance for now to try and memorize all that was Alice.

As the last few rays of light disappeared, Alice spoke softly. "And now you know…" she whispered out, keeping her eyes closed and rubbing her cheek against the palm of my hand.

I was silent for a few more moments, not sure exactly how to convey my thoughts. "How does it feel?" I asked quietly. I wasn't sure why I asked, but I was curious. Alice answered without moving or opening her eyes.

"Wonderful…" she spoke quietly. It seemed neither of us wanted to speak louder than necessary. "I love the warmth. I just wish that I could feel it more often without worrying about people seeing _that_." She spat out the last word as if she were disgusted with herself.

"Alice…" I waited for her to open her eyes and look at me. "That was…" I searched for the right words. "You're beautiful. That was amazing." I paused, looking directly in her eyes so she knew I meant what I was saying. "You never have to hide from me…" I whispered out finally, pressing my forehead to hers. "I'll be your warmth," I spoke even quieter, almost as an after-thought.

Alice closed her eyes and smiled, resting her head against mine as the sun peaked through the clouds once more and silence surrounded us.

Minutes later, Alice spoke again, just as softly as before.

"My sun."

**A/N: And there you go. Hope you liked it. I'll most definitely update soon. I have so many ideas in my head for where I want this story to go, and I need to get them down on paper soon. So you guys won't have to wait long for another update. Keep an eye out for that.**

'**Till next time! ^-^**


	16. A Welcomed Friend

**A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry that I didn't, in fact, update as soon as I hoped. I knew where I wanted to go with this chapter, but I was having serious writers block with how to do it. So, many apologies for the lateness of this update.**

**Zinc-conscience253: Whoa. Great to hear! Thank you so much! Please keep me updated with how you like the story. I would hate to disappoint**

**Svtwilfan: Yeah, I most definitely wanted to have something in here about past lovers, and I thought that that was the opportune moment. Incredibly glad you enjoyed it. **

**Paradoxalpoised: Thanks! Luckily I had my computer with me or you probably wouldn't have gotten that update until now and then this one much, much later. Believe it or not, I actually began writing a future chapter before I even began writing that last one. So it was kind of confusing switching back to the "present" time. **

**Aussie Royal: I'm thinking that I'll probably add a few of those "bonding" chapters throughout this story. I don't think that everything should be focused on just action or just drama. So hopefully those future chapters will be just as good, if not better, as that last one. Thanks. ^-^**

**Disclaimer: As always, Twilight and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, not myself. **

**And now for the new chapter…**

I woke the next morning after a fitful sleep. Alice didn't stay with me, meaning that I slept as horribly as I had before I met her, nightmares included.

I had dreamt about Ryan dying. I watched him burn in front of me, not able to do anything but stare. I tried to get to him, running as fast as I could, but didn't get any closer than where I began.

That was the first time I had dreamt about Ryan dying in a while. My dreams always seemed to be the fire I was in. They were always of me almost dying or hearing my parents screaming downstairs. Watching Ryan die this time was horrible. After I woke up in the middle of the night sweating, I had trouble falling back asleep. The image of him crying out in pain seemed burned into my eyelids and I saw it every time I closed my eyes.

I shook my head, trying to forget about that dream and focused on before I had fallen asleep.

Alice had said that she had to hunt because she hadn't the day before like she had planned to. So I, reluctantly, let her go. I tried calling Jake multiple times. Billy, his dad, told me that he couldn't come to the phone because he was asleep. Every. Single. Time. I had to have called at least ten times, just trying to get through. Billy just seemed to get more and more frustrated with me, but I wanted to know what was happening with my best friend. Mono, apparently.

"Bella, stop calling. Jacob won't be out and about for days - weeks, maybe. He has a bad case of mono and has been put on bed rest," he had told me the final time I called. I rolled my eyes at the memory of how annoyed he sounded.

I pulled myself out of bed, the only thing encouraging me to get ready for school being the promise of seeing Alice again. Just the thought of that put a smile on my face and a skip in my step.

As I walked into my bathroom to get ready, the phone began to ring. Not having any idea who would be calling me this early, but hoping that it was one of two people, I raced down the stairs to get the phone before the final ring.

"Hello?" I asked, trying to catch my breath and act calm.

"Hello, Bella. I was wondering if you'd like a ride this morning to school." I smiled to myself as Alice's voice came through the receiver, just as happy as ever.

"Yeah, most definitely. I'd love that, Alice."

"Great. I'll be there in fifteen, if that's okay?" I agreed quickly, not able to hide my excitement about seeing her so soon. Alice giggled into the phone before speaking again. "Okay, Bella. I'll see you then." I could hear the smile in her voice and couldn't help mine growing as well.

"Alright. See you then." I hung up the phone and quickly made my way back upstairs to finish getting ready. I knew that I couldn't compare to Alice or her family in any way, but I couldn't help wanting to look nice for Alice. Who can blame a girl?

After ten minutes of trying and failing to make myself up, I decided on just wearing a pair of jeans and a band t-shirt, my usual attire. Nodding to my reflection in the mirror, I turned to put my black Chuck All-Stars on and quickly made my way downstairs to grab myself something to eat.

Truthful to her word, Alice showed up exactly fifteen minutes after she had called, ringing my doorbell and then knocking softly on my door. I quickly gathered my books into my bag and grabbed my half finished Pop-Tart off the counter before making my way to the door and to my stunning girlfriend on the other side.

And she most definitely did not disappoint. Standing before me when I opened the door was the ever-stylish Alice Cullen, forever dressed as if she were about to walk in a fashion show.

"Good morning, Bella," she greeted me with a warm smile before leaning up on her toes to kiss me softly.

"Mm. Good morning, Alice," I hummed in response, smiling. Giggling, Alice grabbed my hand and led me out to her car. We were about halfway to school before Alice broke the comfortable silence that had fallen over us after Alice had poked fun at my choice of breakfast food.

"My siblings offered to let you sit with us at lunch, if you'd like. I can understand if you'd rather sit elsewhere, but I thought I'd extend the invitation." She glanced over at me as she finished, watching for a reaction.

"I highly doubt that all your siblings want that, Alice." I shuddered as an image of Rosalie glaring at me popped in my head. Thinking about her and Edward turned me off of sitting at their table, but I knew that I shouldn't keep Alice away from them. It wasn't fair to her or them for me to steal her away continually.

Alice looked at me again and shrugged as if she knew exactly of whom I was speaking. "None of them are totally against it. Jasper would really like to get to know you better. And Emmet already loves you." She looked back out at the road before continuing. "Edward and Rosalie will come along. It's not that they don't like you…" She paused, thinking of what to say next. "They just don't understand why I want to associate with a human. Not your fault at all, of course."

I gave Alice a 'you have got to be kidding me' look before even trying to come up with something to say. Again, she shrugged before pulling into the school parking lot and grabbing a spot next to where her siblings had parked. Their cars were empty, thank God, which meant that they had all already headed inside.

"It's, of course, up to you, Bella. We really don't have to sit with them if you'd rather not." Alice grabbed her bag and moved out of the car, coming over to my side to open my door. I spoke after grabbing my things and joining her.

"I guess we can sit with them, Alice…" I trailed off with a sigh. "I need to get to know them anyway." I tried for excitement at the end, hoping that Alice would just ignore my nervousness and was horribly disappointed when she pointed it out.

"Bella, you really have no reason to be nervous about sitting with my family. Not only will they not do anything to you, but also I'll be with you the entire time." She grinned cheekily at me as we walked toward the school building. She acted as if nothing could go wrong as long as she was with me. I couldn't really argue against that, but it was still annoyingly… true. I sighed at my realization, slightly frustrated that I really had nothing horribly bad to worry about and yet I was still worried, before Alice spoke again. "Nothing to worry about." Her grin grew as I rolled my eyes.

_Except for making a complete fool of myself, _I thought to myself as we made our way into Biology.

I realize now that walking into an incredibly small school holding the hand of someone of the same sex as oneself without anyone having the slightest clue that said person may be gay is an incredibly idiotic thing to do.

Walking into Biology, the entire class quieted as Alice led me by the hand to our seats in the back of the class. I tried to keep my eyes forward, locked on the far wall as much as possible, but found it incredibly hard as the whispers broke out slowly. As I let my eyes scan the rows of my fellow classmates, I saw that not only was everyone staring, but that most had also stopped mid-motion. Of course, this could have been shock because Alice was smiling the brightest smile ever as she walked slightly ahead of me, but I'm almost one hundred percent certain that shocked would be an understatement for how everyone felt. They slowly began to move again as the whispering grew more persistent.

What seemed like an eternity later, Alice and I made it to our seats and settled in for class. Alice seemed completely adamant to keep physical contact with me in some way at all times, whether it be her foot touching mine, her hand brushing against mine, or her leg resting against mine; none of which seemed to go unnoticed by even one person. I really didn't mind the contact. I loved it, actually. It really did calm my nerves some-what, knowing that she was there. I just wished that people would stop staring.

When we broke into our partners for another lab, Alice leaned over to me.

"Bella, relax," she whispered to me so that only I could hear. I glared slightly at her as I replied.

"How do you expect me to relax, Alice?" I whisper yelled. "Everyone's staring. I thought that everyone had gotten over that last week, but apparently not." Alice's face fell as she let her head fall and I immediately regretting getting upset with her. "Oh geeze, Alice. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out like that…" I trailed off as I tried to get her to look at me.

"It's alright, Bella. I understand that you don't like a lot of attention. I'll keep any contact to a minimum from now on," she replied, looking ashamed of herself.

"That's not what I meant and you know it. I just didn't think through how everyone would react to us 'being out'." I said with air-quotes. Alice looked up at me through her eyelashes, dazzling me without even trying. "So… uhm… yeah…" I lost any trace of argument the moment she looked at me and failed to be eloquent once again.

Alice smiled softly before reaching over to grab my hand. "Well then, let's go get our supplies." She only spoke again once we got back to our table. "And just to let you know, Bella, you don't have to do this alone. I'm right here with you the entire time. Always will be" She smiled again at me and I found that I couldn't argue if I wanted to.

"All right, Alice," I whispered, knowing full well that she'd hear me.

Word spread quickly throughout the school that Alice and I "seemed closer than friends". About halfway through Math I got used to the whispers. It was strange to have people talking about something other than the fire when it came to me. I found myself listening in more than once to conversations that were going on around me, purely out of curiosity, of course. What they were saying wasn't really upsetting me anymore. I honestly just wanted to know what they could possibly be talking about that seemed to need so much speaking; especially if it involved Alice and I. It was incredibly startling when I started hearing rumors already forming about Alice's and my relationship.

Emmet met us outside of Math after the bell rang, giving Alice a one-arm hug as she still refused to let go of my hand, not that I minded.

"I'm guessing that you've heard, then?" Alice asked calmly.

"I've heard more than I've ever wanted to about my little sister," Emmet joked back, tousling Alice's hair. She swatted his hand away, mocking annoyance before her grin gave her away. Emmet laughed lightheartedly as he shrugged. "What can I say? There are just some things a guy doesn't want to hear over the grapevine." Alice laughed and began walking down the hall, me still at her side. Emmet tagged along faithfully, clearly not bothered by my presence in the least.

"Yeah, well, most of those rumors are just that – rumors. So don't get your hopes up in seeing anything around the house," Emmet scoffed as if he had been offended. His mannerisms reminded me a lot of Jake when he acted out over dramatically, but I thought mentioning that wouldn't be the wisest thing to do. "Yeah, I know you and how your mind works, Em," Alice said, knocking Emmet's head with her free hand.

Emmet laughed again as we walked down the hall, drawing attention to our small group. Alice noticed my glancing around and took in our surroundings, being completely obvious. Emmet, taking the cue from Alice, did the same, noticing many eyes following our movements.

"Well then," he began, facing forward again. "Can't say that you don't draw a crowd, can ya?" He asked jokingly, winking at me over Alice's head. I blushed slightly, averting my gaze from him, which only made him laugh harder. "You were right Al. She is a blusher through and through," he chuckled out. Alice elbowed him in his side, walking a bit quicker ahead of him, pulling me along to keep pace.

We made it to the cafeteria in no time with our new pace, again drawing many gazes as we made our way to the lunch line.

"Really, you'd think that people would find something better to look at," I mumbled under my breath, looking down at my tray as we walked through the line getting our food. Alice picked up an apple and a bottle of water, placing them on her tray before she turned to me.

"I really don't blame them for staring at you, Bella. I catch myself doing much the same quite often." My mouth fell open slightly. Realizing that I was gaping like a fish, I quickly shut it and tried to compose a coherent thought. I came up with nothing and settled with just rolling my eyes before picking up my tray and walking around Alice, starting off toward her table.

I stopped when we were only a few yards away, remembering where I was headed, and waited for Alice to catch up to me. She did so quickly, stopping by my side with a questioning glance.

"After you," I choked out. I was really trying to get my nervousness under control, but seemed to be failing miserably.

Alice smiled reassuringly at me before nodding slightly and taking the lead. She reached out and grabbed my hand, squeezing it softly, and led me over to her table.

When we arrived, Jasper was sitting by himself, closest to the open window next to the table. Alice pulled out a chair two seats away from him for me before she took the one directly next to him.

"Good afternoon," Jasper spoke. At first, I thought for sure that he was speaking to Alice, but as I looked over at him, I saw that he was looking past her and at me. I saw Alice nod out of the corner of my eye, and decided that it would probably be wise to answer.

"Hey, Jasper. How are you doing today?" I asked, sounding more confident than I felt.

Jasper smiled at me and I felt a wave of calm wash over me. "Quite well, actually," he answered with his smile still in place. It was a very soft smile, one of understanding. I couldn't help but smile back at him as he continued speaking. "I'm incredibly glad that you decided to join us today. Days seem inexplicably dull without our energizer bunny around." He tilted his head at Alice, indicating that she was said bunny. I laughed as she shrugged.

"What can I say? You all are just a dull bunch." Alice winked at me after she spoke. I laughed again under my breath.

"Not all of us," Emmet said as he sat, Rosalie following reluctantly behind him. "I'd like to think that none of us are, actually. Well, except Eddie boy," he added as Edward joined us. Edward rolled his eyes at his brother's childishness, but I couldn't help thinking that Edward did seem rather stuck up.

"Not everyone finds that acting like a child is necessary, Emmet," Edward replied coolly, sitting down and looking directly at me. "Bella," he nodded at me. I was shocked more so than before. Edward had not spoken a word to me since I met him, so his addressing me was very unexpected.

Alice nudged me softly, encouraging me to respond.

"Oh. Hi, Edward," I whispered out, obviously much more anxious than before. Another wave of calm rushed over me and I glanced over at Jasper with what I hoped was a thankful look.

Edward cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him. Alice grabbed my hand under the table, squeezing it reassuringly.

"I'd just like to say that having you here is very new to all of us," Edward began. I nodded, trying to act polite. He was talking to me as if I was an idiot, but I figured that he might not have known that I knew that already. "And I honestly don't like being this close to someone not like us," he spoke matter-of-factly. I shrank back in my chair under his scrutinizing glare. Glancing around the table, I saw that Rosalie was wearing a similar glare, though Emmet, right beside her, seemed conflicted as to if he should say something.

"You don't have to be rude, Edward," Alice spoke from beside me, drawing the attention away from me for a moment. Edward's gaze flickered to her but then away again quickly. Trying to act inconspicuous, I followed his line of sight to see that he was staring intently at Jasper. After a small nod from Jasper, Edward sighed.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I hadn't meant to come off as rude." Jasper cleared his throat, interrupting what Edward was about to say. With another sigh, he began again. "Okay, so I had meant to be rude. That was inappropriate of me. Please forgive me." Edward again looked directly at me.

Before I was able to speak, Rosalie scoffed from the other side of the table.

"You're kidding, right? It's not like it matters what you say to her." Rosalie set her glare directly on me as she finished, indicating quite clearly that I wasn't wanted.

I felt Alice become very still next to me before she spoke calmly and quietly. I think that was scarier than having her scream.

"Rosalie, need I remind you what we spoke about last night?" She spoke authoritatively, taking command of the conversation before it got out of hand. Rosalie remained silent as far as I could tell; I tried to look anywhere but at her.

Emmet looked back and forth between his wife and Alice, looking as if he was trying to decide whom to defend. Finally, his gaze fell on me, his brows pulling together as he thought. I would have laughed at how childish he looked with his arms crossed and his lips pursed if it had been at any other time.

Edward excused himself quietly as Alice and Rosalie's glaring contest continued. I remained completely motionless next to Alice, afraid that any sudden movement would cause uproar from Rosalie.

Finally, Jasper sighed and Rosalie stood. He must have felt the growing tension more than anyone at the table.

"Fine. We'll talk about this later. Have a nice day," Rosalie spoke lethally, glaring at me once more before stalking off toward the exit of the lunchroom, dropping her untouched food in a trashcan on the way. Emmet followed faithfully, as expected. I wouldn't say that he was siding with her, just that he loved her. I could understand that. I smiled at him when he turned around to look back at the table, letting him know that I was fine. He grinned at me before he turned back around and raced off after Rosalie.

Alice leaned back in her chair with a sigh and silence fell over all of us that remained at the table.

Minutes later, Jasper finally spoke, breaking the tension.

"Well, that went well," he spoke with a straight face. He seemed so serious that I couldn't help the laughter that exploded from me. Call it nerves, but I was relieved to let all of the pent up tension out in some way.

Alice began giggling beside me before she began to laugh as well and Jasper joined in just moments later.

**A/N: So there you go. I'm really going to try to update sooner this time, but I can't promise anything. School's starting up again soon, and I have to get ready for that. BUT, I do promise to update as soon as I can. **

**Thanks for reading! ^-^**


	17. A New Threat

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry that I took so long to update. Classes just started back up and it's ridiculous. SO much work. I'm surprised I had any time to work on this, honestly. BUT, here it is.**

**Stacie23103: Thanks a lot! Don't worry, I will most definitely update as much as I possibly can with everything going on. =)**

**CountryMumAU: Thanks for joining and hope you like it all so far =)**

**Sydneeannmarie: You'll just have to wait to find out. Mwahahaha. Haha, just messing with you. You will find out shortly, though. =)**

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**MysteryTwiLover058: You're going to find out about that soon. So just keep reading. =)**

**Svtwilfan: That's really good. I was hoping to get that part about the small town right, but I wasn't sure if I did. So thanks. Keep me in check on things like that if you would. Hahaha. And Rosalie is actually going to become more involved in later chapters, hopefully. But we'll see. =)**

**Same old same old for the disclaimer. I don't own Twilight or it's characters. I do, however, own this plot and the characters that I add to it. So please no stealing.**

I realized that Jasper was just as Alice had described him to me. He was very friendly once you got past his pained expression.

I found out during our free period that Jasper was actually the newest vegetarian vampire, having only started the lifestyle after meeting Alice and seeing how she lived.

"He has it very hard being constantly around humans during school," Alice spoke thoughtfully and she played with my fingers. We had retired to Alice's car while everyone else went to his or her class. Jasper had offered to join us, saying that he wanted to keep us company, but Alice refused, telling him to go ahead to class and that we'd talk later. He didn't put up much of a fight seeing as his next class was US History, apparently his favorite course. "And Edward's almost always around him, making sure that nothing makes him snap. It's very hard on him…" She trailed off, a contemplative expression taking over her features.

"You truly care for him, don't you?" I asked, reaching up to cup her cheek. She leaned her head against my hand with a sigh.

"I do, very much so. He and I are closer than anyone else in our family. Everything's just so much harder for him with his empathy." I nodded understandingly.

A silence fell over us as Alice continued to play with my fingers.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked moments later, nervous for some unknown reason. Alice nodded and looked up at me, giving me her full attention. "I don't mean to pry into everyone's lives, but are Jasper and Edward…" I trailed off, knowing that she'd understand my meaning.

Alice looked frustrated as she spoke. "No. They should be, though." I looked at her curiously, silently asking her to explain. "Edward's just stubborn. He refuses to admit his feelings, repeatedly telling himself that he shouldn't be feeling that way. Jasper can feel it, though. He knows exactly how Edward feels. It's frustrating for him. He wants to be with Edward, for reasons beyond my understanding," she huffed. "But Edward won't give in to his feelings. And Jasper doesn't want to push him away. It's really hard when Edward's almost constantly around him."

"That must be really hard for him. I can't even imagine…"

Alice nodded. "He's tried to explain it to me before. I didn't understand it before, but I do now." She looked up at me, her eyes swimming with emotion. Silence fell again for a few minutes as we just stared at each other before Alice spoke again. "Bella, vampires mate for life. They only have one person that can make them whole. Edward and Jasper are that for each other, even if Edward won't admit it." She paused again, looking as if she wanted to say more. And of course, right in that moment, the bell rang, signaling the end of our free period.

I scrunched up my face in disgust, making Alice laugh.

"And what, may I ask, is that face for?" she asked, still giggling.

"Gym is what that face is for. I hate gym," I grumbled out, knowing full well that I had to go after missing so much of it already.

"Silly Bella, you'll be fine," Alice spoke as she got out of the car. "And besides, it is your last class. Just think about getting through it and going home," she said with a smile and a shrug after I had gotten out of the car to join her.

"But I still have to get through it to get home. Have you not realized how much of a klutz I am?" I moaned out the last question, visualizing all of the pain that was very likely to be inflicted on others and myself by my participation. Alice froze beside me, eyes staring straight ahead of us. Her sudden stop jerked me to a halt along with her.

Alice had explained to me before what happened when she had a vision, but it still scared me to see her freeze up. I didn't like it, but I remained quiet beside her, letting her focus. After a few moments, she shook her head as if shaking away a memory. She began walking again, worry etched on her face, and pulled me along with her gently.

"Alice?" I asked, hoping that she would tell me what she had just seen. She turned to look at me without stopping.

"Oh, nothing to worry about." She smiled at me warmly. "But I did see that you'll be perfectly fine in gym. No harm done. So no worries there, either." Her smile grew as if her saying that would really make me stop worrying.

"Alice, why-" she cut me off before I could finish.

"It's nothing, Bella. Really." We had made it to the gym entrance by this time, and Alice stopped in front of me. "I'll see you after class, okay?" She smiled at me again, though it didn't seem to reach her eyes. I nodded quietly before she leaned up to give me a quick kiss before she turned and walked away.

**APOV:**

_This can't be happening_. I continued walking briskly to where I knew Jasper would be. I had sent him a text as soon as I was out of Bella's sight, telling him to meet me out behind the school, to where I was walking now.

My vision had startled me more than most. It was vivid, much more so than usual, almost as if it was sure to happen.

I turned the corner to find Jasper already leaning against the wall, waiting for me. He pushed off against it when he saw me walking toward him, a look of confusion and concern contorting his features.

"Alice?" He asked slowly as soon as I reached him. He never was one to beat around the bush when he knew something was up. I nodded and he instantly knew that I had seen something bad. "What's going to happen?"

"Another vampire. And he wants Bella." I leaned against the wall and slid down it so that I was sitting against it. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I continued. "I don't know who he is, Jasper, but it seemed so real. He's going to take Bella and I don't think he's planning on coming back."

Jasper kneeled down beside me, putting his arm around my shoulders. "Alice, tell me exactly what you saw. Please." His voice was stern and I knew that he wouldn't let anything bad happen if he could help it. I sighed and nodded, reaching up to grip my hair with one hand.

"The vampire came. I wasn't with Bella for some reason, but she was in the woods. They looked like the ones behind out house. I can't be certain, though." I shook my head, trying to figure out why she would be out there alone. "She was stumbling forward, maybe trying to find something. And he came, just walking toward her. She spoke to him, asking who he was, but he didn't answer. He began walking faster toward her and she froze, almost as if she couldn't move... She stopped breathing when she saw his face before collapsing on the ground. And he picked her up and walked away. Just like that.

"I tried to see further into her future, but I can't. There's nothing there, Jasper. I keep seeing his face, and that's it. He's always there, blocking me from seeing her…" a broken sob cut me off. "I can't let him take her away from me, Jasper," I cried out before turning and clinging to the front of his shirt.

He held me fiercely, letting me get all of my frustration out.

"It was so real, Jasper… I don't… I don't think we can stop it…" I said as I calmed myself down. Jasper hadn't let me go, but remained silent. "Please, Jasper… tell me it won't happen…" I gripped his shirt tighter, fear overtaking me again.

"We'll do everything we can to stop it, Alice. She won't be left alone," he spoke surely. I felt his voice vibrating in his chest against my face as I clung to him. "We need to talk to Carlisle and let him and the rest of the family know. How long do we have?" His voice was gentle and I knew instantly that he would protect Bella just as fiercely as I would.

"I don't know… a week, a month, I just don't know…" I pulled away from him to look at his face. Concern was swimming in his eyes, but his face was set in certainty. He reached up and held my face between his hands so that I couldn't look away.

"Alice. We. Will. Protect. Her." He looked directly at me as he said this, each word enunciated with a pause. "Even if we have to relocate to keep her safe, we will. I promise."

I nodded, unable to argue against the intensity in his gaze, and began to actually believe him. I nodded again, this time with fervor.

Not only did seven vampires surround Bella, but she also had me. There was no way in hell that whoever this new threat was would even get a chance to get to my Bella. Not with killing me first.

**BPOV:**

_Oh gym, how I loath thee_, I thought to myself as I entered the gymnasium. Energy was coursing through the air as people participated in whatever activity was going on. I opted to sit on the sideline until the end of class, but the coach had different ideas.

"Isabella Swan?" he hollered over at me across the room. That got people's attention for sure. The news about Alice and my relationship hadn't seemed to bypass anyone, and everyone stopped what they were doing to see what was about to happen.

I got up and walked leisurely over to where the coach was standing with his arms crossed and a clipboard hanging off a chain on his thigh. I fought the urge to roll my eyes at the stereotypical get-up he was wearing.

"Yes sir?" I asked as innocently as I could, hoping that he wouldn't make a big scene of anything.

"You've missed most of this class this year, and you decided to skip out of last week's classes, too. What do you have to say for yourself?" Oh, this is going to be interesting. _Lay it on thick, Bella_.

"I'm sorry, sir. I wasn't feeling well last week. Overwhelmed with moving to a new place and all…" I left that thought hanging, hoping that he would take some pity on me and let it go.

"No note?" he asked, causing me to cringe. Apparently he was hardheaded.

"No, sir. No one at home to sign one for me," I spat out, which caused him to turn red in, what I found out not even seconds later, was anger.

"What do you mean no one to sign one for you? Isn't there anyone that you answer to at home?" I would have thought that all the staff would have been told about my situation, but apparently not.

"No. Not at home. I live alone." I kept my response short, annoyed enough as it was. I walked away from him then, not wanting to have anything more to do with him. The stares that I received from the students I passed ranged from confusion to awe.

I realized as I walked away that I had a problem. I didn't have anywhere to really go.

I decided that the locker room would be the safest bet seeing as the coach couldn't go into the girls' locker room. So I sat there… and sat there… and sat there. I hadn't realized how much time was left in class until I looked up at the clock on the other side of the room. Apparently that little tussle only lasted about five minutes. So I still had about an hour left of class. _Lovely…_

Alice was true to her word. She was waiting outside of the locker rooms when I got out of class. She didn't seem nearly as worried as she had before, so I figured that she must have solved whatever problem she had.

I walked toward her leaning form against the wall, reaching out to grab her hand before leaning against the wall next to her with a sigh.

"Tough class?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Wouldn't know. Didn't stay," I grumbled out before pushing off the wall and leading Alice out to the car. She sped up her pace easily to match my own.

"Why didn't you stay, Bella?" Her voice was smothered with worry, but I didn't feel like getting into it at the moment.

"I just didn't." I refused to look at her, even as she tried to get me to. I knew that as soon as I did, my resolve would crumble and I'd be blubbering about how annoying that man was.

After many failed attempts, Alice finally stopped trying to get me to explain and walked silently with me to the car. It was a different story once we got in, though.

"Okay, spill," she demanded as soon as the doors were closed. She had turned to face me without starting the car. I looked at her without saying anything. "We aren't leaving until you tell me what's wrong." I rolled my eyes at her and looked away after she crossed her arms stubbornly.

Alice seemed to notice that I wasn't going to give in at the moment and tried a different tactic to get me to talk. A very effective tactic, actually.

"Bella…?" She tried to get me to look at her. "Baby… please?" I could hear the concern in her voice and struggled to keep looking away. I saw her lean over the space between us out of the corner of my eye. "Please, Bella?" She leaned around so that she was in front of me and I couldn't help looking at her.

Alice's face was so sad it was depressing and I couldn't help giving in if it would make her happier.

"The coach was being stupid, so I went and sat in the locker room," I mumbled out quietly. Alice heard every word of it, though.

"Stupid? How?" she asked, concern etched in her voice. I sighed, knowing that she wouldn't let this drop until she knew what had me so down.

"He was making a big deal about how I didn't have a note for last week, saying that I should have someone at home to sign one for me…" I broke down crying. I hadn't meant to, but I did. "It was stupid, really," I choked out while I wiped away my tears. Alice had sat back in her seat, and she began rubbing my back softly. "Just a misunderstanding. But I just… and Ryan used to… and it's just… God, I'm so stupid!" I blurted out in frustration. Alice let go of my hand quickly and before I knew it had my door open and was kneeling outside of it beside me.

"Bella, that's not stupid of you. He was being ridiculous." She leaned up and pulled me into a hug. "I can't believe that he would be so insensitive. I should go give him a piece of my mind," her voice turned angry instantly, and she began to pull away from me, which only caused me to hold on tighter.

"Don't you dare, Alice? It's not a big deal. It was just a misunderstanding," I repeated what I said moments ago, trying to convince her that it was really just some stupid overreaction on both our parts.

Alice sighed and leaned into me again, holding me tightly. "Okay, Bella. But if this happens again, I'm going to the principal." I nodded against her shoulder before loosening my grip on her.

She let go and got back in the driver's seat quickly, gripping my hand in hers again.

"You worry too much, Alice. Nothing's going to happen to me." I tried to smile reassuringly at her.

"No, nothing will." She glanced over at me and then back at the road before speaking again in a whisper. "I won't let it."

**A/N: Duhn Duhn Duuhnnnnn. Who is this mystery vampire and what does he want with Bella? Will Alice actually have to die for him to take Bella away? Will Edward accept his feelings? Will Rosalie ever get over herself? The world wants to know! Or maybe just the readers of this fic… either way. You're all that matters.**

**Well…. You're going to have to wait until next time. Hope you all stayed interested through this chapter. I'm going to try to update sooner, but don't quote me on that.**

'**Till next time! ^-^**


	18. Broken Glass

**A/N: Hey all. Sorry this took a bit to get up as well, but I'm trying really hard to get at least one chapter up a week. If I fall behind, sorry in advance.**

**And before I forget (as I tend to do quite often…), Disclaimer- Twilight and all of its characters/plots belong to Stephanie Meyer, not myself. This plot and any other characters that are added in are mine, so please don't steal.**

**Black Lithning: I was wondering where you went. I always say that too. I'm a procrastinator through and through, so no worries. Thank you so much for reviewing again, though. You always make me smile. Hopefully this chapter will be up to par. ^_^**

**Tomwillisrulz: Thanks for the review! All will become clear shortly, so keep reading. Thanks for the "good luck" too. I'd love to hear from you again. ^_^**

**ShaneTwin1-2: Yeah, I wasn't too sure about making the coach not know about Bella. I kept going back and forth on that part, but I finally decided to keep it in. I will most definitely keep the adorable Alice and Bella-ness going on. Hopefully this chapter will be enough for now. ^_^**

**Vicroid: Uhm… yeah. I'm not saying who the vampire is just yet, but you'll find out soon. And the whole Edward thing, I just thought it would be good to put in something that is an actual issue with a lot of relationships like that. Rosalie, on the other hand… hahaha. ^_^**

**xxLooneyLovegoodxx: I can tell you now that I'm probably not going to have James in this story. I'm not sure yet, though. So I guess we'll find out together. Lol. ^_^**

**stacie23103: Well I'm very glad to hear that. The mystery vampire will soon reveal himself, so hold tight. ^_^**

**Thank you all for reviewing, as well as anyone that I didn't reply to on here. I'm really trying not to reply to too many, but you all are so amazing that I always have a hard time of picking and choosing who to answer. But, enough of my rambling. I know ya'll are all only here for the story, so here ya go. ^_^**

**APOV:**

"We've got trouble." I jumped as Jasper spoke after he dropped a newspaper on the table in front of me.

Having been absorbed in my own thoughts, I hadn't known that Jasper was in the room. I looked down at the paper before me, reading the headline "_Two more dead – Murderer Still on Rampage"_.

"I'm thinking we have a rouge vampire on our hands," Jasper spoke again after a minute as he sat down across from me. He picked the paper back up, skimming the article again. I saw my sketchpad, which was previously covered by the paper, laying open in front of me. I looked down at what used to be a blank paper before I zoned and saw Bella staring back at me.

I frowned slightly before I looked up again at Jasper. He was staring back at me with a curious expression on his face, silently asking me what was wrong. I sighed and put my head in my hands.

"I don't know, Jasper. It's just that with everything happening so suddenly… Carlisle doesn't seem too concerned right now, though. Has he seen this?" My thoughts were much more scattered than usual. I imagined Bella sleeping alone at her house and wondered what she was dreaming about. Jasper cleared his throat, trying to get my attention. "Sorry, what?"

He gave a small chuckle before turning serious again. "I showed it to him, yes. He was frustrated with it, didn't really believe it at first. He didn't want to, I don't think, but who of us does?" He looked at me trying to gauge my reaction. "He told me to make sure that I let you know, though you had probably already seen it." My frown deepened. "You hadn't?" he asked, trying to conceal his shock and failing.

I shook my head in frustration. "No, not at all. I haven't been able to see much of anything lately, aside from us specifically. Nothing from outside, though." I gripped my head tightly, trying to force something to come to me. "Nothing will come, though…" I whisper out.

I was beyond frustrated with my visions. What had been a normal occurrence became something that rarely happened. And when I did have a vision, it was always blurry and unclear, never lasting more than a few seconds.

Jasper got up from his seat across from me and came to stand beside me. He knelt down and reached out to me, placing his hand reassuringly on the back of my neck.

"They'll come to you, Al. Just give it some time. Relax." I looked at him as if he was crazy, which caused him to chuckle again. "I know, I know. But nothing will happen to Bella. We're all here, and we won't let anything happen to anyone in this family." His gaze was serious and I couldn't help but believe him. I nodded my head before turning back to my drawing in front of me. Jasper looked at it as well. "You should go to her. She'll be waking soon." He got up from his place beside me, ruffling my hair softly. I growled at him playfully, to which he stuck his tongue out in response.

Jasper left the room quickly after I glared at him. I could hear his chuckle down the hall and smiled to myself. He always knew how to cheer me up.

"Thanks, Jazz," I whispered, knowing he would hear me.

**BPOV:**

Days had passed and Alice was still tense. Ever since she had that vision Monday morning, she hadn't been nearly as cheery as usual. Sure, she tried to act normal, but she couldn't fool me.

We were walking back to her car after another school day had ended. Alice was looking around us casually, though there was obvious tension around her eyes. I sighed as I watched her. I had asked her before, multiple times, but she wouldn't budge, always telling me that nothing was wrong or that it was nothing to worry about.

Alice looked at me quickly, almost as if my sigh scared her. "What's wrong?" she asked hurriedly, looking around us once again as if someone was going to pop out behind a car and attack us. I rolled my eyes at her antics.

"Why don't you tell me, Alice? You've been acting strange all week." I pulled her to a stop once we reached her car, forcing her to face me. Well, forcing as much as a human can to a vampire. Alice looked around us nervously, almost looking as if she was searching for a way out of this conversation. "Alice, you had better tell me what's wrong. I'm sick and tired of the secrets. Spill." I looked her straight in the eye, indicating that I was through with the lies that I was being fed.

It had been a long week, especially with classes, but having all of the Cullen's acting oddly, Alice in particular, made it even worse. It made the week seem even more horrid with everyone tense around me. And I was through with being left out of the loop with what was happening. I wanted to know what was going on, and I would find out one way or another.

Alice looked around us once more, searching again for some way to avoid answering me. I glanced around us as well, just to make sure that she really had no reason to not answer me, and saw none.

Normally around this time of day, all of the Cullen children would be out in the parking lot waiting for us to head home. But presently, they had all already left, leaving Alice and I to ourselves.

"Alice…" I warned again, gripping her hand that rested in mine. "Tell me. Please?" I softened my gaze and voice when she looked at me. Her eyes looked so afraid… so vulnerable. I wasn't used to seeing her like this, and it was frightening me.

Alice nodded her head once before opening my door for me. I leveled my gaze at her, making sure that she wasn't going to try to get out of answering me.

"I'll tell you. Get in the car and we'll go to the cliff," she answered, her eyes becoming more certain with determination.

"Okay…" I said slowly as I climbed in and fastened my seatbelt. Alice was next to me in a matter of seconds, already pulling out of the parking lot and speeding along the road.

We drove in silence, neither one of us wanting to bother the other. It seemed like we were walking on broken glass with each other this past week, and the tension between us had grown to a maximum. And I didn't like it one bit.

The silence didn't last too long, though. We got to the cliff in what must have been record time.

Alice sat back in her seat and closed her eyes with a soft sigh. If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought she was asleep. I sat watching her, curious as to what was going through her head. It was always hard to tell with her.

Her breathing became quieter and quieter until it seemed as if she wasn't breathing at all. When her lips parted slightly, I did almost believe that she had fallen asleep on me. But seconds later, she reached over and grabbed my hand softly, tracing patterns on the back of it with her thumb. I couldn't resist the wave of calm that washed over me at her soft caress.

"Shall we, then?" she asked quietly as she turned to face me and opened her eyes. I nodded softly; the air around us didn't seem to allow anything further.

Alice climbed out of the car smoothly, much slower than normal, and made her way around to open my door. Her movements were slow, even for a human, and I didn't want to seem like any more of a burden to her, so I opened my door before she could get to it. She smiled sadly at me after I had gotten out. _I don't like this…_ I thought to myself. I hadn't expected Alice to be so upset, and to say it was frightening me would be a complete understatement.

Alice turned and walked toward the cliff, knowing that I would follow behind, albeit slowly. I watched her as she walked, trying to figure out what was happening before she even began to explain. He shoulders were slumped slightly; she wasn't holding herself nearly as properly as she would usually. It seemed almost as if the whole world was on her shoulders, and I wanted nothing more than to take that weight off of her and onto myself in that moment.

I felt tears start to gather in my eyes as I watched my vampire's movements. I couldn't understand what could possibly be bringing her down so much, but I did know that I would do anything to fix whatever was wrong.

Alice sat down on the ledge, lowering her head into her hands and stared at the water below her. I stood behind her a moment more, summoning up my courage before I went to sit behind her, straddling her back before I slid my arms around her waist. I rested my forehead between her shoulder blades, and we sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity.

I'm not sure how long we did actually sit there before I felt Alice begin to take deeper breaths, releasing each slowly. When she leaned back into me a little, I lifted my head and let her rest her weight completely on me. She placed her arms on mine, lightly dragging her fingers across my skin.

_No matter what was wrong, I can at least do this for her_, I thought to myself. _I can at least support her_.

"Bella…" Alice spoke softly, almost in a whisper. It sounded like she was speaking in her sleep, and how I wished in that moment that she could leave whatever reality was haunting her and dream sweetly.

Again, silence fell over us as we watched the sun begin to lower over the horizon.

"Bella…" she began again, just as quietly as before. "Before I tell you, you have to know that I wasn't just trying to hide this from you. I didn't want to scare you." I felt my mouth go a little drier at her words. Whatever this was, it must have been pretty serious. I took a deep breath before answering her.

"Okay, Alice."

I felt her nod her head against me before she spoke again.

"I had a vision Monday, but you saw that. It wasn't about your gym class, though. I'm sorry I lied to you." She squeezed my arms gently before letting her hands rest on them again. "I saw you, Bella. You were walking in the woods alone, I don't know why. And I saw a man… well, a vampire." Alice stopped, her breathing becoming choppier. "And he took you, Bella. He just took you…" a dry sob stopped her from saying anything else.

I hadn't known what to say, so I sat in silence. Alice lay against me, her back shuddering slightly against my chest as we both sat in silence once again. It seemed to be a common reaction for both of us today.

I lowered my head and kissed her neck softly. I didn't want her to think that I was upset with her because in actuality, I was far from it. But to say I wasn't worried would be a lie. If this vampire had scared Alice this badly, then he must have been someone threat worthy - someone who could cause some serious harm.

We remained quiet, both of us lost in our own thoughts.

Alice was afraid for me. That's why she didn't tell me about this threat. But I knew that she wouldn't let anything happen to me. Who was this vampire, though? What did he want with me? It made no sense at all.

"I won't let anything happen to you," Alice whispered out confidently after a little while. I tensed behind her as a sudden wave of dread washed over me. Alice wouldn't let anything happen to me. I realized that she would fight for me and never stop. _Never stop_. The phrase repeated in my head until it became almost as common as my heartbeat.

I couldn't let Alice fight for me. She couldn't get hurt. I wouldn't let her.

My grip tightened around Alice without my noticing. She looked up at me in confusion, but I didn't know what to say. I stared back at her in shock. I shook my head back and forth, staring at the eyes I fell in love with.

I couldn't lose Alice because of some psychopath. I couldn't even chance letting her get hurt, nonetheless losing her.

I let go of Alice and stood up abruptly, walking a bit away from her, and began pacing. My thoughts roamed free in my mind, bouncing from my parents to Ryan to Alice, always back to Alice, my past, present and future. I couldn't lose her. She was everything to me.

I chanced a glance over in Alice's direction to see her standing and looking at me worriedly. She must have thought that I was afraid for myself. I dismissed the thought quickly, not bothering to even worry about that.

_What to do, what to do, what to do?_ I kept questioning myself. I had begun to chew on my thumbnail, a nervous habit that I had never quite gotten rid of over the years.

Finally, I stopped my pacing to turn to face Alice. I dropped my hands to my sides in defeat and Alice ran to me immediately, engulfing me in a hug.

"Don't worry, Bella. I won't let anything happen to you," she cooed in my ear. I felt something wet on my cheek and reached up to find that I was crying. Alice realized at the exact same moment as she held me tighter to her than before. "I'll keep you safe…"

"Don't _say_ that." I wanted to yell at her, but it turning into a frustrated sigh more than anything. Alice leaned away and looked at me in shock. "You heard me, Alice. Don't say that." She cocked her head to the side.

"What do you mean, Bella?" Alice asked, her eyebrows pulling together as she tried to figure out what I was trying to tell her.

I reached up and grabbed her shoulders, stepping back and holding her at arms length. Looking her straight in the eye and with as much authority as I could muster, I answered her.

"Do. Not. Say. That. I will not lose you, Alice. You will not fight for me just to get yourself hurt. I can't lose you. I…" my resolve was crumbling as my throat began to close on me. "I'm in love with you, Alice. I just can't lose you, too." My tears began falling freely as I fell into my love's arms, gripping her tightly.

"Shh, Bella. It'll be okay. I promise." Again, Alice was comforting me. Always comforting me. Trying to do what was best for me. Never herself.

"Stop that!" I yelled before yanking away from her. Alice's arms remained outstretched as she fought the urge to comfort me again. "Stop it, stop it, stop it!" I yelled again. "Stop caring about me so much! Care about yourself. Be selfish, for crying out loud! I don't want you to protect me, Alice. I don't want you to get hurt… not you too…" I whispered out the last part before falling to my knees. Alice's resolve seemed to crumble as well as she launched forward, pulling me to her and wrapping her arms around me.

"I won't get hurt, Bella. Nothing's going to happen to either of us. I promise," she repeated to me over and over. We sat like that for a while, each time I thought I would stop crying, a new wave of tears began to fall again. Alice refused to let me get up until I had calmed down.

After what could have been years but was probably just minutes, I dried my last tears and looked up at my girlfriend.

"I ruined your shirt…" I whispered out, to which Alice giggled softly.

"It doesn't matter, Bella. It really doesn't."

Alice finally helped me get to my feet and pulled me into her arms again. She kissed me gently before moving away slightly.

"So…" she trailed off. I felt a slight blush rise on my cheeks, hoping that she wasn't heading where I thought she was. "You're in love with me?" she asked, a sly grin taking over her features.

I tried to get my blush under control to no avail, but nodded anyway. "Yes, Alice. I'm in love with you."

Alice's smile turned soft as she leaned forward again, stopping a breath away from me. "Good. Because I'm in love with you too," she said before claiming my lips again with hers.

**A/N: Cute enough for all of you? I really wanted to end this one on a happy note since the last one ended kind of "GRR"-esk. So I hope I did a good job on that.**

**Like always, reviews are loved and welcome. You all encourage me to keep writing, like always. And I'll try to update again as soon as possible, so keep an eye out for that.**

'**Till next time! ^_^**


	19. Time

**A/N: Alright, so here's the next chapter. It's the longest yet, which is very exciting. Sorry it took a bit to get it up, but hopefully it's worth it.**

**Before I forget: I do not own Twilight or any of Stephanie Meyer's characters. I do, however, own this story and the characters that I add into it.**

**I didn't get many reviews for the last chapter so I'm actually only going to respond to one of you now.**

**Tomwillsrulz: Thank you very much. Classes have been going well so far, but we'll see how it all goes until the end of the semester.**

**And on another side note, I'd really like to thank Hollowgo. His story has been an inspiration for this chapter. I am aspiring to be more like him in his writing. If you haven't read his story Blood Solstice, get your butt on it. It's a great story and he's an amazing writer. So that's my little shout out for this chapter.**

**And now, what you've all been waiting for…**

Another dreadfully long week had passed before I knew it. The tension was still in the air, but I was more in the know than I was before. Alice or Jasper would always tell me if something new came up or if another person went missing. The number was growing quickly, moving from three to eight in the time span of a week. Carlisle was much more tense than he had been before, constantly locking himself in his office during his off hours, doing whatever it is that he does up there. I think I had seen him twice in the past week, and that was just in passing.

I was almost constantly at the Cullen house. Alice refused to leave me alone now that her visions were failing her more often than not. I even slept over there more often than in my own bed, not that I was complaining much. Alice let me sleep in her room, wrapped in her arms every night, much to my pleasure. The only thing I really missed was the privacy of my own home. Nothing was unheard while Alice's siblings were home, which took a lot of getting used to.

On the bright side, everyone seemed to be getting used to the idea of Alice and I as a couple. Jasper and I were getting closer and becoming quick friends. And the fact that he could relax me almost as quickly as Alice could didn't hurt, either. Emmet, of course, didn't really need any coaxing. He was his big bear of a self from the first day. We still hadn't had much time to talk, but when we did, it was always playful banter. He was very easy to be relaxed around. Rosalie, on the other hand, tended to be a bit more stubborn in that aspect. And because she was almost always with Emmet, playful moments often turned awkward quickly. And Edward… well, Edward was Edward. Alice said that he's coming around but it'll take him a bit longer than the other men in the family, similarly enough to his situation with Jasper.

Carlisle and Esme were a different story all together than Alice's siblings. They both accepted Alice and I from the beginning, which was amazing in and of itself. But, I will admit that I wish I could see them around more often. With Carlisle being in his office or at work all the time, I rarely get a chance to say any more than a quick hello. Esme, of course, is incredibly loving and always quickly comes back to say hello if she forgot to, which is very seldom. Everyone in the family seemed to be rushing around, though. Always busy, it seemed.

"I guess I should have known you'd be here." I looked up from my book as Alice and I sat on the couch to see Rosalie standing over us. Her gaze traveled across out position – me lying with my feet in Alice's lap – as her face scrunched up. Alice rolled her eyes at her sister's comment before looking up.

"Must you always be so rude, Rosalie?" Alice's tone was complacent, and I could see the strain in her eyes as she tried to keep it as relaxed as possible. Rosalie scoffed in answer before turning her gaze abruptly on me.

"Believe it or not, I actually wanted to speak with you, Bella," Rosalie said, boredom emanating from her, the only indication that she was tense being the slight twitch in her lip as she fought off a grimace.

I looked at Alice in shock as Rosalie stared back at me, waiting for an answer. Alice's expression mirrored my own to a lesser degree, though it was still quite obvious that she wasn't expecting Rosalie to ask that. I must have been sitting quietly for longer I thought. Rosalie began tapping her finger on her crossed arm impatiently, waiting for me to respond.

I quickly snapped out of my daze and swung my legs off of the side of the couch. Alice watched me carefully, a confused expression still on her face.

"Okay, Rosalie. Would you like to go somewhere-" Rosalie cut me off by turning and heading toward the back door abruptly, leaving me behind with Alice. She left the door open as she exited, expecting me to follow quickly.

"You had better go before she gets angry," Alice whispered out, her expression slowly becoming normal again. She spoke again, louder so that Rosalie could hear her. "You had better not do anything to her, Rose." I heard another scoff from outside, signifying that Rosalie had heard her sister. "Alright, go ahead. I'll be right here, okay?" I nodded in understanding before heading out the door.

Rosalie was standing a few yards away, staring up at the clouds as they passed slowly in the sky. I stood awkwardly behind her after shutting the door, waiting for her to say something. Minutes passed in silence, the only sound to be heard being the birds in the distance.

"It's odd how slowly time moves for us," Rosalie spoke without looking toward me. I didn't know if she was expecting a response. I nodded my head just in case, hoping that she'd hear the movement. A moment later she continued. "It's not every day that one finds their mate, Bella." I looked up as she said my name to find her watching me closely. She held my gaze for a moment before looking away. "Some vampires have to wait centuries to find that one person, did you know that?" I nodded my head quietly. "Of course you knew that. It's common sense really, isn't it?" Rosalie laughed humorlessly and I knew instantly that there was some deeper meaning to her words.

"Even if one of our kind doesn't have to wait centuries, it always seems like it. As if the wait for that one person that fills us up will never end. As if we'll never actually find who it is that we're supposed to be with, damning us to walk this earth alone for the rest of eternity…" Rosalie trailed off as she looked down at the ground, frowning and furrowing her brow in thought. The silence that fell over us lasted longer this time with Rosalie standing still once again, looking like a statue of a Greek goddess in front of me. I watched her cautiously, not knowing exactly what to do.

"Rosalie…?" I questioned quietly, worried that she may have decided that she didn't want to speak with me after all.

"You know, it was years before I found Emmet, many more years than you've even been alive. And how did I find him? Almost dead, actually. Bleeding to death in front of me, mauled by a bear." Her facial expression softened at the mention of her mate. As the scowl melted off her face I noted that she was even more beautiful with that small smile. "I couldn't save him, though. I would have killed him if I had tried. I had little to no self-control back then and I would have drained what little blood was left in him. So I took him to Carlisle and now here we are years and years later." She looked back up to the sky as the clouds broke apart and the sun shone through. It hit her and I couldn't stifle the gasp that came from me at seeing her shine.

"Here we are!" She yelled suddenly, causing me to jump slightly. Her expression became one of rage as she screamed to some unknown being in the sky. Her fists clenched as she held her arms out. "We're right here!" she yelled again.

I was startled by her sudden outburst and didn't know how to respond. I closed my mouth, which had fallen open slightly as I watched her and stood silently where I was.

Rosalie eventually lowered her arms as the sun hid once again behind the clouds – even the sun was afraid of Rosalie. She kept her face turned toward the sky, her eyes closed, as she started speaking again, quieter this time. "We're right here now. Some of us hundreds of years later than when we were supposed to leave this earth. All of us leaving behind loved ones, watching them die out as we live on forever." She lowered her head and scoffed in disgust. "Forever. It seems like such an arbitrary term, doesn't it? Doesn't quite fit the meaning after living for so many years, never changing."

I remained silent as Rosalie turned her face to look at me. Her expression softened as she studied me. I didn't know if she was waiting for me to say something, but I remained quiet. I had nothing that I could say.

Rosalie smiled sadly at me. "Do you know how long she's waited for you, Bella?" I nodded my head in the affirmative, but remained silent otherwise. "Do you really? It was long before you were born, I can tell you that. But even she doesn't know how long, exactly. Before me. Before Emmet. Maybe before all of our siblings. No one knows, not even Alice herself. She can't remember." She paused and thought about what she would say next.

The silence that seemed so awkward before now felt welcomed, comfortable even. I had never thought that I would feel comfortable with Rosalie, especially not this soon. But as we stood in their backyard, Rosalie showing me real emotion for the first time, I felt closer to her than I ever had before. I studied her expressions as she studied my own, each of us waiting for a reaction from the other. Rosalie sighed, having seen or not seen what she had been looking for in my eyes.

"Bella, you are to Alice what Emmet is to me. You are irreplaceable to her in ever sense of the word. If you die, she dies. You may not see your relationship as that intense, but it is to her. You're her life now, Bella. Please understand that." Rosalie's spoke softly as she told me this, emphasizing each thing she said by speaking slowly. "This isn't just a fling to her. I hope you realize that."

She thought I wasn't serious? That I was just using Alice for… what? For some sick twisted game of mine? I silently fumed at the idea. _Rosalie just didn't understand. She just jumped to conclusions and thinks that I… That I don't love Alice._ I mentally smacked myself for not realizing it earlier.

That was why Rosalie didn't welcome me. She thought that I was just using Alice, that I wasn't serious about this. She thought I planned on hurting Alice. I laughed a little when I realized this, causing Rosalie to look at me as if I was insane.

"And what do you find so funny?" She asked, the scowl slowly reforming on her face. I quickly pulled myself together and stifled my quiet laughter, not wanting her to get the wrong idea.

"I'm sorry Rosalie," I began quickly. "It's just that all this time I thought you hated me just because I was human." She looked at me oddly as if I had said something that made no sense. "And now I find out that you think I don't love Alice as she loves me, which is absolutely insane." I look at her levelly, trying to convey that I mean what I say. "Rosalie, I can assure you that I love Alice just as much as she loves me, if not more so."

Rosalie studied me again silently as she let what I said sink in. Her face held no emotions and her posture offered no indication of her reaction. The silence fell over us once again, neither of us moving or looking away from the other.

Rosalie eventually nodded with a brief smile before walking toward the house and me. I remained standing where I was, not moving to even watch as she went. As she was about to pass me, Rosalie stopped, placing her hand on my shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Be good to her," and then she was gone, inside the house and leaving me alone outside.

I stayed where I was, soaking in all that had just happened. There was no noise once again, and I wouldn't have been surprised in the least if Rosalie was actually still out here with how quiet she can be.

Minutes later, I heard the door quietly open and close before feeling familiar cool arms wrap around me from behind. We stood in silence for a few more moments before Alice set her chin on my shoulder.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the peace that had come over the area. I nodded silently. Alice sighed softly before nuzzling my neck with her nose, breathing in quietly. "Are you sure?" she asked again after a few moments. I nodded again, still not having anything else to say.

We stood in silence, watching the woods that surrounded the Cullen's house. I watched as a squirrel climbed down a tree and up another, carrying a nut in its mouth. Alice seemed to be watching it as well. She spoke once it disappeared again in the confines of the tree it inhabited.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alice thought that Rosalie had said something mean to me, apparently. Or done something that hurt me. I didn't know what exactly she thought Rosalie did, but I figured I should dispel any poor feelings that she may have been forming against her sister.

"There's not much to talk about, actually. You probably heard most of it, didn't you?" I turned my head slightly so I could look at her out of the corner of my eye.

"I was trying not to. I wanted to give you two your privacy." I smiled at her thoughtfulness, knowing how hard it must have been to not listen in. I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before responding.

"Thank you, Alice. I appreciate that. But I don't think we need to talk about it. I'm okay. Promise." I added on the last part when she looked at me concernedly.

Alice sighed before releasing me and walking around so that she was facing me. She again wrapped her arms around me and held me to her. I mirrored her actions and pulled her closer to me, loving the feeling of her cool skin against me.

We stood like that in silence as Alice searched my eyes. I didn't know what she was looking for, but I wasn't trying to hide anything. So I showed her what I wanted her to see in the best way that I could think of. I leaned forward and brushed my lips against hers.

At the swift contact, Alice pulled me tighter to her, pulling my lips back to hers and deepening the kiss. I had no argument against it and welcomed the feeling of her against me. We broke apart when my need for air became unbearable. Alice giggled as I grumbled at my need for oxygen.

"That's just not fair," I grumbled out. Alice rested her forehead against mine.

"What isn't fair?" she asked, teasing clear in her eyes.

"You know exactly what." I glared at her as best I could with a smile tugging at my lips. "Stupid vampires and their lack of need for oxygen…" I mumbled out quietly, making Alice laugh.

"What was that, love?" she questioned me, laughter still evident in her voice.

"Oh, you heard me." I stuck my tongue out like the mature almost-adult I am, making Alice laugh once again. Rolling my eyes, I untangled myself from her arms before I walked back into the house. Alice hadn't moved from her spot, her laughter still ringing. I smiled to myself as I opened the back door and let myself in. I turned back once I had gotten inside to see that Alice still hadn't made an attempt to follow me and, moving on a whim, I closed the door quickly and locked it.

I knew that it wouldn't keep her out if she really wanted to get in, but it was the best I could come up with. I looked at her out the glass door as she realized what just happened. Her smile quickly turned into an evil smirk as she sauntered up to the door and stood across from me, crossing her arms as she came to a stop. I mirrored her position, waiting to see what she would do.

Her smirk widened as she watched me, and damn, was that smirk sexy. I swore I heard a soft chuckle from the adjacent room, but I couldn't be sure and, assuming it was Edward, I thought a quick apology. In my haste to check myself, I hadn't been paying full attention to Alice who had taken a step away from the door and turned away so that her back was facing me.

I watched her mesmerized as she started to sway her hips to her own rhythm. She pulled her arms down and across her front, each grabbing the opposite side of her shirt. She kept both of her hands gripping her shirt softly as she continued to sway for a moment longer before she began to pull her shirt up slowly, revealing an inch of skin at a time.

My mouth fell open at the sight before me as I realized that Alice was giving me a strip tease. A freaking strip tease!

Alice turned her head slightly, that cocky grin still on her face. I looked up to meet her eyes and saw the dare in them, almost as if she was daring me to do something about it. _Oh, it's on_.

She had gotten her shirt about halfway up her back when I flung the door open to grab her. But, having apparently anticipated my reaction, Alice was already inside as soon as the door was open far enough for her, her shirt back in its proper position on her body.

I turned to face her, scowling as she grinned triumphantly at me. Glaring at her, I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly. Alice cooed softly before coming over to me and trying to kiss me. I turned my head at the last second so that she kissed my cheek.

Alice pulled away after a moment with a thoughtful look on her face. I noticed then that the entire house was completely quiet, not even the sound of someone moving around upstairs being present. This may have meant nothing, but I got a chill thinking that the house was completely empty except for Alice and I.

I noticed all too late that Alice's evil smirk was back as she scooped me up in her arms and carried me to the couch. She deposited me swiftly on the couch and lowered herself on top of me, laying her body down on mine. Her smirk grew as she watched me struggle underneath her, trying to push her off. I knew it was futile, but I tried anyway, not wanting her to know how much I was actually enjoying this, though I have a feeling that she already did.

Alice waited for me to stop struggling underneath her before she dragged her hands up my arms lightly, her fingers leaving a trail of goose bumps from my wrist to my shoulder. I involuntarily shivered, and not because of the cold. Alice noticed this, her eyes darkening significantly. We had spoken about that before, and Alice told me that vampire's eyes only darken when they're thirst, angry, or turned on. I sincerely hoped that it was the latter of the three.

I gasped as Alice lowered her head down to my neck. I began to shake under her, not out of fear, but out of anticipation. The thought of Alice biting me hadn't even come across my mind at this point as her hands began their trail back down to my wrists, eliciting more goose bumps.

Alice slid her nose up and down my neck, inhaling my sent quietly. She had never said too much about how I smelled, but I was guessing it was good by the moan the slipped from her lips. I shivered slightly hearing her.

Without any warning, I felt Alice's cool tongue against my skin, trailing up and down my neck. I bit my lip to try to keep the moan she was eliciting from escaping, a struggle that was pointless I realized just moments later as she began to nibble on my ear softly.

She stopped a minute later before tilting her head up to whisper in my ear, "That wasn't very nice, Bella."

I had to stifle a moan once again at the sound of her voice, which was incredibly husky. I realized that she wanted a response when she remained still on top of me.

"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered out quietly, my voice breaking at first. Alice chuckled in my ear before licking the shell of it. She kissed my cheek, lingering for a moment, before she leaned up and looked me in the eye. What I saw reflected there was not what I was expecting.

A smirk was tugging at her lips as her eye lit up with mirth. My mouth fell open in shock as I watched Alice lean back more, moving so that she was straddling my hips and sitting up. She crossed her arms and smiled at me in triumph.

That was when I realized what had just happened. I think that the glare that I sent at Alice made her jump a little, but I couldn't be sure. Her smile faltered slightly as she watched me take in what had happened.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I groaned. "All of that… Just for… And then… GAH!" I closed my eyes threw my head back in frustration, letting it fall on the arm of the couch. I heard Alice giggle above me and cracked my eyes open slightly to watch her get up from me.

"That's what you get," she said in a sing-song voice before she turned to dance up the stairs. "I'll be in my room," she called back down to me, knowing full well that I'd follow eventually.

I stared at where my girlfriend had been just seconds ago and grumbled again to myself before swinging my legs over the side of the couch and making my way toward the staircase.

Oh, was she gonna get it.

**A/N: And there you have it, folks. I hope you enjoyed that. I really wanted Rosalie and Bella to have a moment and now they have. And I had to add some nice B/A action in there, too. I hope ya'll like that.**

**Reviews are loved, as always. I'd love to get more than six, but those six from last chapter were loved sincerely. **

'**Till next time! ^_^**


	20. ExBest Friend?

**A/N: Super long chapter alert. Well… longer than most of mine. **

**Before I forget: Twilight and all of its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, not myself. Ryan and other original characters and the plot of this story do belong to me.**

**I'd just like to say a quick thank you to everyone who reviewed. This last chapter had the most reviews as of yet and it was incredibly exciting. So thanks for that. ^_^**

**DesireeStorm: Welcome to the FA universe. Hope you enjoy the ride. And yes, Alice always has her ways. Payback will be a bitch later on. You can trust me on that. lol**

**Black Lithning: Sorry, but I had to put up a new chapter. Siiighh, if only I would have known. Lol. No apology necessary. Your reviews are loved even if they only come once every few chapters. I couldn't help but throw in the Alice/Bella moment at the end. It just had to be in there. I thought the balance of Rose/Bella and Alice/Bella moments worked out well, no?**

**10-TwilightFan: You know, I never understood why no one ever does that when situations like these come up in FFs. And I would do it, but I already know where I want this story to go, so I can't. Maybe in my next one, though.**

**Paranoidinsomnia: Thank you for your review, then! I'm honored to read your kind words. I hope this chapter is up to your standards as well.**

**Beelotus: Thank you, thank you. I was really trying to make it fun. Especially toward the end.**

**Chaseherchiss: Thanks so much! What more could an author ask for than to hear words like that? Seriously, many thanks. **

**AngelBlessed: I was tempted to title it "Tease" instead, but the main point of that chapter was the conversation with Rose. So I wanted to point the title more toward that than Alice's teasing even though that part seemed to outweigh Rose's moment based on everyone's reviews. Sorry for not updating super soon, though. Hopefully the next chapter will be up even sooner.**

**Carmilla35: Well thank you! Glad to have you joining the FA world as well. **

**And I know what you're all here for is the story, so here you go. **

"You're evil."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"Maybe a little…"

"Psh. There's no 'maybe a little' about it. You're absolutely evil."

"Eh. Maybe you're right." Alice grinned at me and shrugged nonchalantly. I rolled my eyes at her apparent acceptance of this.

"Oh, I know I'm right. You are pure evil." This wasn't the first time that we've had this conversation since Alice's little teasing game began. Nor was that the last time that she did something like that. Everything she's been doing just added to the torture. A hand on my thigh while we're driving down the road, a soft kiss on the back of my neck as she hugs me from behind, something said with just a hint of innuendo… everything she did, she did with purpose. And it was slowly driving me insane, much to her pleasure.

"I haven't heard you complaining." Alice smirked at me with a quick wink.

"Oh yes you have. You just choose to ignore it." Her smirk quickly became a pout as she lowered her head. She looked up at me through her eyelashes.

"I can stop if you want me to… I didn't know you disliked it that much…" Of course she was going to play that card.

I tried to avoid eye contact because I knew that as soon as I looked at her I'd cave. It wasn't working well at all. I chanced a quick glance at her to see if she was still pouting and couldn't find any will left in me to keep up my argument.

"Ali… You know it's not that I don't like it. It's just—" I didn't get to finish as Alice interrupted me with a bright-up-the-darkness smile before quickly skipping over to me and giving me a chaste kiss.

"I knew it," she said as her smile got unbelievably wider. I rolled my eyes at her trying to hide the smirk that was forcing its way onto my face.

"Yeah, whatever," I mumbled out, turning away from her and crossing my arms when my first attempt failed.

Alice 'tsk'ed at this before moving so that she was in front of me again.

"And what exactly are you trying to do, Miss Bella?" I raised an eyebrow at the surname.

"Really, Alice? Miss?" I smirked as she glared playfully at me.

"What can I say?" she shrugged before laying on a thick southern accent. "I guess my southern roots are coming out in me."

I couldn't contain my laughter as Alice winked at me. "Well, _ma'am_," I said with an incredibly fake accent, mocking Alice's real one and making her giggle. "I do believe that you promised me a ride back to my place." Alice instantly sobered up at that.

Earlier that morning I had told Alice that I wanted to go visit Jake to see if he was all right. I had been trying to call him ever since the bonfire, but like before, Billy said that he was sick and couldn't come to the phone. I didn't know what sickness lasted for three weeks, but I wanted to see my friend. Jake would have done the same for me, so I figured I wouldn't get in too much trouble by visiting him.

Obviously, Alice hadn't really liked the idea. I can't really say I know why, but as soon as I mentioned it the first time, Alice clammed up, much like now, refusing to even look at me for minutes. I figured she may have been looking into the future for what I could only assume to be the mystery vampire that's been plaguing everyone's thoughts, so I let her be until she decided to break the silence.

"_I don't know if I can let you do that right now, Bella…" Alice mumbled out, not looking at me, but watching her hands in her lap instead. Dread instantly filled me, worried that her original vision would be coming true if I were to go._

"_Is he coming?" I knew that she knew whom I was talking about. Alice turned her head away from me, avoiding my gaze even more. I didn't like her avoidance, but I didn't want to be left in the dark again. "Alice?" I pressed, hoping that she'd answer me._

"_I… I don't know, Bella…" she muttered out. If I hadn't been paying full attention to her, I wouldn't have heard her._

"_So what has you so freaked out?" I'll admit my curiosity was getting the best of me. Obviously she hadn't had a vision of whoever it was that was coming for me, so I didn't have any idea as to what she'd be worried about._

_Alice sighed before looking at me out of the corner of her eye. "I just really don't want you that far away from me, Bella." _

_I stared at her in silence as I let her words sink in before I smiled softly at her. _

"_Nothing's going to happen to me, Alice. I'm going to go over to Jake's and then come right back. I promise." I tried to reassure her as best I could. Again, Alice sighed._

_A few minutes passed before Alice answered me. "I guess… But only on one condition." I nodded my head, silently telling her to name her price. "I ride with you. I won't go all the way, but I'll wait for you at where their land begins while you're with him." I thought about that for a moment before agreeing._

"_That sounds fair. You'll be careful though, right?" That made Alice smile._

"_Bella? Immortal vampire, remember?" She smirked at me as I blushed._

"_Ye-yeah, I know. That doesn't mean I can't worry." I stuttered out, trying to get my blush under control. Alice giggled as I ran my hand through my hair nervously._

"_Alright, Bella. I'll be careful," she spoke softly, reaching her hand out to stroke my cheek. "I promise."_

And here we were. The tension at mentioning Jake and the Quileute's making Alice freeze up again. I watched her in silence for a few minutes before sighing and reaching out to her, wrapping my arms around her slight frame.

"Alice…" I warned, quirking an eyebrow as she looked up at me, innocence dominant in her features. I sighed again, knowing that she was about to try to get me to change my mind again.

As if sensing my resolve stiffening, Alice mumbled something incoherently before she buried her face in my neck.

"What was that, Ali?" I asked gently as I rubbed her back, trying to get her to relax. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me closer to her. I felt her take a deep breath before releasing it slowly, her breath tickling my skin and sending a shiver down my spine.

"I don't want you to go…" Alice whispered out against my skin, her cool breath bathing my neck and collarbone. "Don't you want to stay here with me?" She squeezed me a bit tighter and I couldn't help the calm that spread throughout me as she did.

"You know I'd stay with you all the time if I could, Alice…" I trailed off, waiting for her to look up at me. She peaked up at me, revealing one of her striking golden eyes and a slight frown. She had been hunting more often now, constantly wanting to be as well fed as she could be out of fear of hurting me. I smiled fondly at her. "But you know I need to go. I need to see what's wrong with him. Jake's like a brother to me. I can't just not care. You know that."

Alice buried her head back into my neck before nodding softly. "Yeah, I know…"

I smiled softly at my vampire, knowing that letting me go was harder for her because of her vision lapses.

"Okay… let's go," she mumbled out after a long silence. She released me from her hold and reached for my hand. "We've got to go get your truck so that you can drive once you're on their land."

Half an hour later and we were on our way to the Reservation, Alice driving silently next to me. She used the excuse that she wanted to see how my truck drove, but I knew it was more of her trying to keep control of at least some things that were happening around her. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, worried that she was keeping more from me than she was letting on.

"We're almost there now," Alice spoke quickly as the wind carried through the windows. She had said that she could smell the line better if the windows were open, so I complied without hesitation. It made the ride a bit cooler, but I didn't mind. The cool air was just a reminder that I had Alice here.

Not even a minute later Alice pulled over to the side of the road and got out, coming over to the passenger side to open my door. I climbed out swiftly, pulling Alice to me and wrapping my arms around her. Maybe I did want to go see my friend, but leaving Alice was still one of the hardest things that I ever had to do, especially after being with her almost twenty-four/seven the past week or so.

I shivered slightly as Alice brushed her lips across the skin of my neck. We remained silent for seconds, minutes, hours - I didn't know how long, really. It didn't matter because no matter how long it was, it wasn't long enough.

Alice stiffened a second before a sudden roar made us pull apart. I looked up, startled to see a half dressed Jacob standing yards from us, shaking and glaring daggers at Alice.

"What in the _hell_ are you doing?" Jake yelled, running over to us. "Get away from her!" He quickly yanked on my arm, pushing Alice away in the same instant. "And keep your filthy hands _off_ of her!"

Alice hissed as she took a half step back because of Jake's push. I stood stunned, not knowing what exactly to do in response to Jake's outburst before the reality of the situation hit me.

"How _dare_ you?" I yelled at him, trying to pull my arm out of his grasp. I was sure I would have a bruise there later, but I didn't care about it right then. "Get off of me, Jacob." He turned to look at me as if I was crazy. "NOW!" I yelled, startling him enough to make him loosen his grip. I took advantage of his momentary lapse and pulled myself away from him, quickly going to stand in front of Alice. I held her face between my hands, trying to get her to look at me.

Alice's eyes were pitch black, a low growl emanating from deep within her nonstop.

"Alice? Baby? Please, calm down." I tried to get her to look at me, rubbing her cheeks with my thumbs and moving so that I was directly in front of her. My attempts were for not as Alice kept her eyes locked on Jake's form over my shoulder.

I knew I couldn't force her to do anything simply because of her vampire strength, but I refused giving up. I had to get through to her before she did anything she regretted.

"Alice," I said more sternly, moving my face closer to hers so she couldn't look around me. The instant we made eye contact, her eyes started becoming lighter. I heard Jacob start to speak behind me and turned sharply to him. "Oh don't even! Just _shut up_!" He looked at me aghast, frozen mid-step, but I ignored him, turning myself back around to face Alice. Her eyes had returned to their black state, her pupils not distinguishable in the least from her irises.

I searched her eyes for any sign of my Alice. Silence surrounded us as we stood there, the only sound her low growl that had yet to let up. I didn't know if Jake was still behind me, and I couldn't have cared less about it at that moment. "Alice…" I whispered out, trying to call her back to me. Her stance had become defensive since Jake had pushed her, but she relaxed a little when she heard her name. I took that as encouragement to keep going, so I did.

"Ali, come back to me, baby. I know you're in there…" I searched her eyes again, watching them lighten slowly. "That's it, love. I'm right here." I ran my thumbs over her cheekbones again, and a few moments later she finally spoke.

"I'm okay," she said quietly. I couldn't contain the sigh of relief that came from me as a small smile formed on my lips. Alice reached her hands up slowly and entwined her fingers with mine before bringing them down the hang between us. She smiled sadly at me before speaking again. "Keep me here…" she whispered.

I looked at her confusedly, trying to decipher her words but to know avail. "Alice…?" I asked hesitantly, asking for her to explain. She shook her head, looking down at our entwined hands. She rubbed her thumbs over the backs of my hands softly, tracing indiscernible patterns into them.

"I… don't want to lose myself again…" I smiled as I heard that, knowing that I had my Alice back. I waited for her to look up at me before answering her.

"You won't, Ali. I won't let you." She smiled at me though her eyes were still sad. I leaned in, intending to kiss her but a rumbling sound interrupted me. I looked at Alice questioningly, wondering if it was from her. The look in her eyes instantly told me otherwise and I remembered that we were in the presence of others.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Jacob shaking more so than before, glaring once again at Alice - or rather, where she would be were I not in the way. I kept her blocked from his sight, hoping to keep her calm.

Jacob took a step closer.

"Don't move." I stated without any hesitance in my voice. I didn't know what was going on with him, but I was already fed up with it. "I swear if you move, I'm going to get back in the truck and never come back."

Jake froze instantly, eyes searching mine to see if I was telling the truth. Having found nothing to indicate I was lying, he remained where he was.

"Bella, get away from her," he said, straightening his posture and looking more serious than I have ever seen him. Not to mention his intimidating size, which seemed to have doubled since the last time I had seen him.

I rolled my eyes at him before turning around and facing him fully, making sure to keep Alice out of his line of sight.

"What are you doing? Don't turn your back on that thing!" He moved to step toward me, but stopped when he saw my warning glare.

"Don't _even_ give me that, Jacob," I growled at him, clearly showing my distaste for him at that moment. "What the hell is your problem?" I felt Alice set her hand flat against my back before she set her forehead between my shoulder blades. I knew that she didn't want me to be 'protecting' her, but I also knew she'd let me do this.

Reaching behind me, I grabbed her free hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's okay," I whispered to her. I felt her nod against my back and smiled softly, even with the given situation.

"What do you mean 'what's my problem'? My problem is that _thing_ that you're hiding from me!" Jake bellowed from where he was. His attitude was quickly getting on my last nerve and I had to restrain myself from walking over to him and slapping him. "Get out of my way so I can get rid of it."

_Last. Straw._

"That '_thing'_ happens to be my girlfriend. And she's not a 'thing'. She is a person, like you and me. And her name is Alice. And you will not lay a single finer on her. But _you_ had better get your attitude in check before one of us says something we can't take back." I kept my gaze locked on Jacob's so that he knew I was serious. "And you are already _very_ close to crossing that line."

"Bella, you don't know what you're saying," he growled out. His hands were clenched in tight fists at his sides, both of his arms trembling slightly. "You don't know what they are. You don't know what could happen. You need to come with me. Now."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes at his stubborn tone. "Oh yeah, Jake. Because I always listen to you."

Jake growled again, his frustration making him shake even more.

"Isabella Marie Swan. Get over here. Now."

_He did not just say that._

I stepped away from Alice, releasing her hand before I walked straight up to Jacob. Jabbing my finger in his face and leaning up on my toes so I was eye level, I scowled at him.

"You. Do. Not. Tell. Me. What. To. Do." I said, emphasizing each word. Jacob's eyebrow twitched before he opened his mouth to speak again. "No. Shut up," I cut him off. "I came here to see if you were okay. You were supposedly sick." I pulled away from him, putting some distance between us, but keeping the scowl on my face. "And you listen to me, Jacob Ephriam Black." He flinched at the use of his full name. "I am not your property, nor am I your responsibility. And I refuse to speak to you again until you calm the hell down." I turned around and walked back to Alice, opening the passenger door of my truck for her to climb in. She stood beside it, waiting for me to get in the driver's side first. I rolled my eyes at her over protectiveness but smiled at her nonetheless. She kept her eyes locked on me.

I began walking over the other side of my truck, but stopped before I climbed in, turning so that I was facing Jacob again.

"Goodbye, Jacob."

With that, I got into my truck and started it. Alice was inside in the same moment, glaring at Jacob out the windshield. I didn't bother with looking at him, instead looking over my shoulder to back up before I turned the truck around and drove back to Alice's house, only glancing in the mirror once to see something disappear into the woods.

The ride back was completely silent, neither Alice nor I knowing what exactly to say. I was still fuming over my best friend, or maybe it's ex-best friend's behavior, and Alice… well, I had no idea what was going through Alice's head, like usual.

We got back to the Cullen household much quicker than I would have thought, but I didn't dwell on it. I climbed out of my truck, Alice quickly meeting me on my side and slipping her cool hand in mine. She smiled softly up at me before she led me in the house.

"Bella-bear!" Emmet boomed from the living room as soon as we got through the door. His smile only faltered slightly when he saw our despondent expressions. "Uhm…" he mumbled out, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Everything okay?" he asked quietly, or as quietly as Emmet can.

This had gotten more attention in the house than our initial arrival had and soon everyone was in the living room along with the three of us. I held in the urge to roll my eyes at their obvious concern, my annoyance from earlier still having yet to wear off. Surprisingly, Alice giggled beside me. I whipped my head over at her, looking at her as if she had lost her head. Soon, her giggles became full out laughter, causing her to clutch her sides as if they were in pain. My mouth fell open as I stared at her in confusion. I had no idea what she found so hilarious, but I was worried that she may have finally fallen off the deep end this time.

I looked around us and saw everyone had small smirks on their faces, obviously humored by the scene in front of them.

"May I ask what's so funny?" Carlisle asked after a few moments. Alice calmed herself down slowly, trying to reign in her giggles.

"Bella…" she began before giggles overtook her again. I crossed my arms and glared at her. I wasn't in the mood for anything right at the moment, and having my girlfriend laughing at this situation didn't help.

"Bella what?" Esme asked, humored but curious as to what the joke was. Alice still hadn't been able to get a hold of her laughter and everyone was getting impatient. Seconds later another vampire started laughing. I whipped my gaze over to watch as Edward was also overtaken with laughter, much to my surprise. _Is the whole family losing it?_

"Will someone please explain?" Emmet cried out, clearly frustrated with being left out of the joke. _Join the club, Em_, I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes. I turned away from Alice, crossing my arms once again.

What seemed like eternity later, Alice and Edward finally got a hold of themselves and sobered up a little. I turned to look at Alice to see that her grin was still firmly in place.

"Ready to explain?" Carlisle asked, amused by his daughter and son's bout of laughter.

"Yes, I'm sorry," Alice giggled out. I was worried that she'd fall back into her laughter before she spoke again, proving that she wouldn't. "We just got back from visiting Bella's friend Jacob Black." Everyone's smiles fell from their faces except for Alice and Edward's. _That's more like it_.

"And why is that funny? Were there dogs running wild?" Rosalie asked, obviously getting annoyed with the whole situation and probably wanting to be anywhere else but here.

"Because." Alice grinned as if she had some huge piece of gossip that no one knew about yet, which she kind of did. She was drawing this out more than necessary and I was getting more and more frustrated by the second.

"I don't know what you found so funny about that whole thing, Alice," I mumbled out. Alice looked at me fondly, her eyes lighting up with happiness.

"Oh, I don't think you'd find it that funny honestly, Bella," she said, grinning at me. "At least not right now." She winked at me, apparently loving the suspense she was building.

"Alice, honey, please just tell us what happened," Esme spoke quietly from across the room, trying to get her daughter to come back down to Earth. I silently thanked her, knowing she'd hear me. Alice stuck her tongue out at me, having heard my thanks as well.

"Well," she drew out the word as if she were about to start some epic story, "We went to visit Jacob. Actually, Bella did. I was just driving her to the treaty line. Bella was going to drive the rest of the way while I waited for her there. But Jacob apparently had other plans as he met us there." Everyone sobered up even more except for Edward who still had that infuriating grin on his face.

"And, of course, he kind of freaked out." Alice met everyone's eyes, telling each of her family something that I couldn't decipher. "And Bella here… Well, Bella stood up to him. Almost got in a fight with him, actually. I think she would have won." She smiled proudly at me again. "She got up in his face and told him off. Jacob looked scared out of his mind. I swear he almost peed his pants," and with that she burst into giggles again, Edward's chuckle joining in. Not even a few seconds later, everyone was laughing sans Rosalie, though even she had a smirk on her face.

I still didn't see what was so funny, but watching my girlfriend's family all laughing together wasn't something I could not smile at.

Noticing my smile, Alice walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"I still don't see what's so funny…" I mumbled out. Alice smiled at me before she turned slightly to face Carlisle.

"Do you think it'd be okay to tell her, Carlisle? She's basically part of this family now. And she'd find out anyway," Alice asked, making my curiosity peak. I also looked over to Carlisle to see him rub a hand across his face as he thought. Everyone's eyes fell on him, waiting to see what he'd say.

"I suppose so. She would find out eventually, wouldn't she?" Alice nodded in the affirmative. "Okay. Shall we all sit?"

We all moved to sit in the living room. Rosalie joining Emmet on the couch he had been occupying, leaning into his body as he wrapped an arm around her. Jasper and Edward took too chairs next to each other, almost touching each other but not quite. Esme took a seat next to where Carlisle remained standing while he rested a hand on the back of her chair – a small but loving gesture. Alice and I took the remaining loveseat, though we didn't cuddle up more than necessary… because it's always necessary to cuddle at least a little with Alice.

Carlisle cleared his throat once we all got settled, though it was unnecessary for him, and began.

"Bella, what do you know of the Quileute legends?"

**A/N: Oooohhh. The Quileute's revealed? Will it be? Well, you'll have to wait and see. Hopefully, the next update will be much sooner than this one.**

**There were 16 reviews for that last chapter and that was super incredibly exciting. If, by any chance, there could be just as many or more for this chapter, I will be completely ecstatic, without a doubt.**

**Another quick shout-out to a guy who's been giving me great ideas… Hollowgo has some seriously great stuff up. Check out his story Blood Solstice ASAP. Get on it. Seriously. If you want some good reading, go there. **

**And on that note…**

'**Till next time! ^_^**


	21. Confrontation

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the extended time it took to update this time. I've been ridiculously busy. But, the next chapter is now here. AND I have some exciting news. There's now a blog for this up on blogger. You should all check it out. The link to it is on my profile. It'll be updated more often than the story because it takes less time to put up a post on there than a new chapter. And there's going to be extra goodies up on there, so make sure you check back regularly.**

**Tomwillisrulz- Thanks much. Sorry that I didn't update as soon as I would have liked, but it's here now. ^_^**

**Wendy55- Indeed, that is true. And thank you very much. **

**GeorgaBrea15- Thank you! I'm honored. =)**

**Cocnuy- Well, you don't have to worry about that. You'll see how it all plays out in this chapter.**

**Black Lithning- Hahaha, yeah, you know how it goes. Resting is good. Thanks for the review, though. I always love hearing from you. Hope this chapter is up to your standards.**

**As always, Twilight and it's characters belong to Stephanie Meyer and not myself. But this story and any OC's belong to me.**

I didn't get a chance to answer Carlisle. Jasper broke in right as I was about to tell him that I had heard most, if not all, of the Quileute legends before.

"We have company, Carlisle." He was glaring out the back door, watching for something that I couldn't see. I heard that Jasper always did have the best senses.

Everyone's heads turned in the same direction, scowls and looks of concern adorning their faces. I continued to look out the back door, hoping to see what they were glaring at. I soon became frustrated with being left out of what was happening yet again.

"What are you all looking—" I was cut off by a man walking into the clearing behind the Cullen house. "Sam…?" I asked, confusion clear in my tone.

Soon, others began to join him, falling in line parallel to the trees behind them. There were a total of five men, before a final joined them moments later. He stopped just behind Sam and to the right. I stood up abruptly once he was in view, realizing it was Jake. I was flooded by my anger from earlier today and glared at him through the glass. I then felt a wave of calm directed at me from Jasper, but pushed it off stubbornly.

Alice stood along with me, grabbing my hand in hers. The others followed immediately, each standing and glaring out the window. We all waited stiffly to see what would happen. Not wanting to wait any longer, Carlisle took the lead and walked to the door, opening it and walking out calmly. Esme followed suite quickly, leading out Jasper and Edward. Emmet had to pull along a reluctant Rosalie who was complaining about some stink that she could already smell from them. I wasn't paying much attention to them, though.

"Go upstairs," Alice said next to me. I looked over at her, shocked that she would even suggest such a thing. She was staring back at me, a stern look in her eyes as they began to darken in shade. "Bella, please don't argue with me. Just go." I shook my head, refusing to move anywhere except out the door with her and the rest of her family. Alice squeezed my hand, a desperate look in her eye. "Please, Bella. This could get dangerous. Just listen to me this once." Again, I shook my head. Alice began to look more and more desperate as she turned to face me completely and grabbed my other hand in her free one.

I spoke before she could say anything. "No, Alice. I'm coming with you." Alice opened her mouth to argue, but I pulled my hands out of hers and began to walk outside where the others were waiting. I heard Alice huff behind me before I felt her hand in mine once again, accepting defeat gracefully.

"Fine, but please go if I tell you to," she whispered to me right before we walked through the door. I didn't respond, knowing already that I wouldn't leave her side if something were to happen. Alice sighed beside me, understanding what my lack of response meant.

Sam was already speaking when we made it to the others.

"—dangerous for her-," he said, speaking directly to Carlisle. I knew instantly what he was talking about, but chose to ignore him as my gaze fell on Jacob. He was standing slightly behind Sam, his hands clasped behind his back, looking more professional that I have ever seen him, even with his lack of a shirt. I quickly glanced around at all the others and realized that they all looked similar – short hair, muscular, no shirt, and standing at attention. I turned too look back at Jacob to find that he seemed to be struggling to keep from looking at me, almost as if he had some restraint on him that held him in place.

The conversation around me rose in volume, causing my attention to fall from Jacob to the angry people surrounding me. I took in everyone's expressions quickly, trying to figure out what had caused such an uproar.

Carlisle looked calm, but the stiff set of his jaw indicated that he was very upset about whatever was just said. Esme, standing beside him, looked like she was quickly losing her patience with the situation. I didn't know what to think about that, as Esme was normally the last to ever get upset about anything. I then moved my gaze to Jasper to find him concentrating very hard at, what I could only assume to be, keeping everyone calm. Edward, who was standing slightly in front of Jasper, almost as if he were protecting him, looked calm as ever, if not slightly stiff. Emmet, surprisingly enough, was holding a yelling Rosalie back as she began to move angrily at Sam. Every single one of them had black eyes.

But all of this fell away as I turned to look at the petite vampire standing next to me.

Alice stood stock still, gripping my hand tightly in her own. Her eyes were set forward, glaring at Sam intently and getting darker by the second. Her face seemed to be carved into a permanent frown as she took in what was said. When I saw this, I tuned back into what was going on around me, trying to figure out what had gotten everyone so riled up and fearful that this would all turn very bad very soon.

"You had better not even try, dog-breath! Nothing has happened to even warrant something like that!" Rosalie continued to yell a few yards away from me, throwing up her hands in frustrating as Emmet held her in place. I looked over at Sam to see him looking back at her smoothly, seemingly not affected by her words.

"You had better watch your tongue, Cullen," he spoke calmly, even though the boys behind him were shaking. I found myself purposefully avoiding looking at Jacob now, not even wanting to bother with him being there.

"Rosalie," Carlisle said, raising a hand to stop her from speaking again. She whipped her head around to stare at her father figure, outraged at being cut off. Carlisle continued unbothered. "Would everyone please calm down so that we can discuss this like civilized people?" One of the Quileute scoffed, causing Carlisle's frown to deepen slightly. Sam just nodded before stepping forward.

"We've already stated our peace, Cullen. Now hand the girl over and there will be no violence." Alice hissed next to me, pushing me slightly behind her.

Carlisle shook his head slightly before speaking. "And you demand this because you believe she is in danger here?" Sam nodded determinedly. "I'm sorry, but I'd have to disagree. As you can see, no harm has come to Bella while she has been with us. In fact, I'd dare say that she is happier now than she was when she first arrived to Forks. I know that my daughter is much happier now with Bella in her life than she was before." Sam's gaze flickered over to us before settling again on Carlisle.

"Does she know what she's gotten herself into? Have you told her the truth about your family?" he asked, clearly not happy with Carlisle's defense.

"Yes, she knows what we are and she is fine with that. Isn't that right, Bella?" Carlisle asked, turning to face me. I nodded swiftly, not wanting anyone to doubt me. One of the Quileute's scoffed before speaking out.

"You probably threatened to kill her if she said otherwise!" he growled out, inching forward slightly. The Cullen's tensed around me, Alice, Rosalie and Emmet all letting out loud hisses.

"Paul!" Sam called, stopping the boy, Paul, from moving forward more. "Cool it. We can all act civil here." Scowling at Alice, Paul took a step back so that he was again in line. Sam waited for Paul to quiet down before turning to face me. "You know what the Cullen's are, and yet you choose to be with them?" he asked, obviously not understanding why I would want to be with them.

"Yes," I answered. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." Sam considered this while the boys around him gawked at me. Jake stepped around Sam, walking toward me with his fists shaking at his sides.

"You can't be serious, Bella. They're all dangerous!" he yelled, frustrated. Sam watched Jake carefully, but didn't call him back in line. "You could get hurt. There's no guessing what these filthy bloodsuckers will do if they get angry." I rolled my eyes at him, choosing not to answer. Alice, on the other hand, chose now to speak up.

"You sick little hypocritical mutt!" she yelled, eyes darkening further. "Do you not remember what you yourself did just earlier today in a fit of anger? You could have broken her arm, which I'm sure you were actually close to. Just standing here I can smell the bruise you left on her arm." She then turned to me, eyes softening immediately. "May I?" she asked, gesturing to the sleeve of my jacket. In all honesty, I had completely forgotten about the bruise, but I nodded and stepped forward, reaching my arm out to her. Alice smiled softly at me before turning back to Jake and pulling my jacket halfway off. The bruise on my upper arm was much darker than we all must have thought. Everyone flinched at the sight of it and I couldn't help but stare at the atrocity that now lay on my arm. "That. Do you see that Jacob? What _you _did when _you_ got angry? Never has Bella been hurt in my presence. Not once. But the first time that you get angry around her, you give her this ghastly bruise." Jake lowered his head and chose not to answer. "Point. Proven." Alice said, turning back to me, lightly tracing my bruise with her cool fingers. "Does it hurt much?" she whispered, eye swimming with concern. I smiled at her and shook my head slightly, hoping to dispel any worries that she may have had about it.

A moment of silence fell over the clearing as Alice examined my bruise carefully. Her cool hands felt amazing against the swollen flesh, and I couldn't help but think of how much better her hands felt than any icepack ever would.

The next time I looked up, Sam was again talking to Carlisle and Jake had yet to move from his spot. His saddened look had turned into a scowl though, and his arms were shaking even more than they had been before. Actually, his entire body was shaking.

"Jake…?" I asked, tentatively. Alice tensed at his name and quickly turned around to face Jake.

"Will it be a waste of breath to ask you to go inside, Bella?" she asked quietly, eyes never leaving the shaking boy in front of us.

"Absolutely," I answered immediately, not needing any longer to question it.

Alice chuckled darkly and I could imagine her rolling her eyes even though I couldn't see her face. "I figured," she said. "Just stay behind me, okay?" I grunted in response, neither agreeing nor disagreeing to her request. Alice shook her head, scoffing a little. "Of course."

"Point proven. Point proven. Point proven." I hadn't stopped watching Jacob since I first noticed him shaking, but I didn't realize that he was reciting this over and over again until his voice became a loud growl. "Point. Not. Proven," he yelled out before he let out an earsplitting growl.

The next instant, Jake seemed to explode out of his clothing and skin, a wolf taking over his place. I stood frozen as the giant russet wolf stared Alice and I down, a constant growl emitting from his barrel chest.

Alice crouched down into a fighting stance, but no one else moved. All was silent in the clearing other than the wolf's growl. I thought I saw Sam move forward to intervene, but he must have decided better of it.

I gasped, finally comprehending that this giant creature was my best friend. That slight sound seemed to be the spark that set the fire going. Without further notice, Jake and Alice lunged, meeting each other halfway between where they were standing, becoming blurs before my eyes.

I tried to follow their movements, but all I could make out was Jake's giant form attacking and dodging every now and then. Alice's small frame was nothing but a blur as she dodged and attacked Jake again and again. Finally, they broke apart, Alice flipping across the clearing, landing gracefully on her feet, and Jake grounding himself near the tree line. They stared each other down, both intent on ending the other's existence without hesitation.

I finally realized that I was about to either lose my best friend or my girlfriend, and the world came crashing back down on me. I shook my head in disbelief before I sprinted forward to stand between the two people I cared about most. The others had all moved back, giving Alice and Jake room to fight, but remaining close enough to jump in were they needed.

I held up both of my hands, palm out, to Alice and Jake. They both looked back at me, confusion clear in their expressions. Had it been any other situation, I would have laughed at the expression Jake's wolf form had taken. He took a step forward, moving toward me.

"Both of you need to stop," I said, sounding more sure of myself than I felt. Again, Jake took a step toward me. "I said stop," I glared at him. He took a step back, indicating that he'd listen for now. Alice remained in her defensive position, but her eyes lightened as she watched me.

"Bella, what…?" she asked, trailing off as I shot her a glare. Under normal circumstances, I would never seriously glare at Alice, but this was by no means normal in any way.

"Enough," I said, determinedly. "This needs to stop now. Both of you are being ridiculous. Jacob?" I asked, turning to face my best friend. "If you're in there, then you will stop this now. Because my best friend wouldn't do anything to hurt me, and hurting Alice would hurt me in the worst way possible." He glared back at me, eyes searching for something that I wasn't sure of. Without any notice, he turned and ran off into the woods. A moment later, a human Jacob returned, a new pair of cut-off jeans on.

"Bella, you don't—" I didn't let him finish, cutting him off by raising my hand.

"If you say that I don't understand one more time, I will never talk to you again," I said firmly, staring him straight in the eye. "I understand, Jake. I may not be some supernatural being like apparently all of you are, but I understand. I'm not stupid. And if you touch another hair on Alice's head, I may do something that we both regret. So please stop. I'm begging you."

Jake lowered his head, glaring down at the ground at his feet. When he didn't answer me, I turned to Alice.

"Alice?" I called, reaching my hand out to her. She was with me the next second, entwining her fingers in mine. I smiled softly at her, before I turned to face Sam and the rest of the Quileute's. "I love Alice, and I love this family. And now, I believe we are done here."

Sam stared back at me, gauging my truthfulness, before he nodded and turned around. The others gawked at him, not wanting to leave like this. They all began speaking at once, arguing against Sam's decision. Sam raised his hand and everyone fell silent.

"If there is only one thing that we should all understand here, it is this: the bond of a mate is eternal and should not be tampered with." He turned and looked directly at Alice and I. "Do not prove my decision a foolhardy one." We both nodded at him before he turned back around and walked into the woods. The other Quileute's followed without another word, though some of them glanced back longing a fight. Jake didn't make any move to leave.

"Bella, I—" again, I cut him off, not prepared to deal with anything he wanted to say.

"Later, Jake. We'll talk later. I can't handle it now. Just go," I sighed out, sudden exhaustion overtaking me. I watched as he met my gaze, eyes swimming with sadness, before he turned and walked off after Sam.

Silence fell over the rest of us as everyone took in what just happened. I was sure that someone would say something a couple of times, but each time they decided otherwise, not knowing exactly what to say. Finally, Emmett spoke.

"That was fucking awesome!" he bellowed out, instantly breaking the tension with his childish response. I looked over in his direction to watch as Rosalie rolled her eyes at her husband. "What? Bella just told off a pack of werewolves. You are officially B.A., Bells," he boomed, coming over to scoop me up in a hug and spinning me around in circles. I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me as he put me down, Alice by my side again in an instant.

"B.A., Emmet?" I asked. I looked around me and saw that all the Cullen's were smiling warmly at me, eyes all back to their normal golden honey color. I heard Alice giggle beside me and smiled at her.

"Bad ass!" Emmet yelled out, clearly amused with himself, before he walked up to me and ruffled my hair with his giant hand. He looked around at his family before nodding to himself. "I think it's safe to say that you are officially a Cullen, little sis," he said, his grin nearly splitting his face in two. I gawked at him as a blush rose on my face before I turned to look at all of the Cullen's.

Everyone, including Rosalie and Edward, were smiling fondly at me. I drew my gaze around to look at Alice. She was smiling up at me, eyes shining with love. I couldn't help the smile that came to me as I stared into her eyes.

Alice then leant up to place a soft kiss on my lips before she pulled me into a hug.

"Welcome to the family," she whispered in my ear, even though everyone there could hear her.

I felt tears stinging my eyes and quickly blinked them away before I pulled Alice closer to me.

Bella Cullen. It does have a ring to it, doesn't it?

**A/N: And there you have it! Hope you all liked it and that it wasn't too confusing or anything. Reviews are loved, as always. I only got nine on the last chapter, so yeah… It was kinda sad. But thanks to all who did review. =)**

**The next update will hopefully be up sooner, but this week is going to be hectic. So please be patient with me.**

**Remember to check out the FA blog! If anyone wants to contribute something to the FA universe, let me know and I will most definitely add it.**

'**Till next time! ^_^**


	22. Payback

**A/N: Alright, so this is going to be a semi short chapter. I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but I am so incredibly busy with school it's a bit ridiculous. **

**AliceandBellaforever: It may become M later on, but as of right now, I see no reason for it to be. Nothing in here is too mature, honestly. But thanks for your input. If you think that it should be M later on, let me know. ^_^**

**10-TwilightFan: Thanks so much! It always annoys me when Bella's a weakling, so I didn't want to make her like that in this. And if I were her, I wouldn't put up with all the B.S. that goes on around her. So I decided to put that in this story.**

**Dilani: Thank you! I do hope to make this story a decent amount longer, but it also depends on how much time I have to write it. If I do make it that long, then it probably won't be finished for quite some time. But we'll have to see. I may end this one relatively soon and then make a sequel. Either way, it'll probably have a sequel of some sort.**

**Segir: I can honestly say that that was probably my favorite line of that chapter as well. Thanks for your review. I was really hoping that their conversation in ch19 seemed real.**

**AngelBlessed: Hahaha, I didn't even think of that! I wish I had. I would have made Rosalie make a smart remark or something. I'll have to throw it in later or something. But yeah, I try to keep all the characters close to their original personalities with little twists of my own. Thanks for the feedback!**

**Alright, as usual, Twilight and all of its characters belong to the ever talented Stephanie Meyer. This story plot and any OCs that I have in here do, however, belong to me.**

_Concentrate, Bella_.

I had been trying to finish my English homework for the past hour and a half now. Alice was laying beside me on her stomach on her, well, sort of _our_ bed, doodling in her sketchpad. Watching her draw was officially one of my new favorite things to do. She was just so incredibly fluid and expressive when she did.

Alice glanced up from her sketch and caught me staring at her. I tried to play it off and moved to look back at my papers in front of me, but my vampire had caught me red handed.

"And what is that lovely blush for, my Bella?" she asked coyly. I peaked over at her, trying to find an escape from the embarrassment that was about to ensue. I quickly shrugged and practically dove for my pencil as it fell from my shaking hands. Alice giggled next to me before she moved to push my papers off my lap. I tried to grab them back from her, but she instead settled herself above me, straddling my legs that I had outstretched in front of me.

I gulped as she leant closer, her mouth only an inch away from my own. Meeting her gaze, I saw the seductive gleam that she had taken on and I knew that I was about to lose this battle. Alice brushed her nose against mine softly before she spoke.

"Tell me…" she whispered out, a slight husk present in her voice. I shivered involuntarily at the sound. Her grin became cockier as she took in my reaction. I sighed in defeat, knowing that I couldn't win, causing her to responded with a squeak of delight before she leaned back so that she was sitting on my legs.

"It's just that… I really like watching you…" I said quietly, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't hear me clearly. Of course I should have known better given that she's a vampire and all.

Alice giggled on top of me, lowering us down so that she was lying on top of me. I placed my hands on her lower back and began to gently rub circles against her exposed skin with my thumbs. Alice purred in contentment and we lay quietly together for a few moments. I had just begun to believe that Alice would let it drop when she spoke again.

"I don't know why. I was just drawing." Her voice was quiet yet content and I couldn't fight back the smile that came to me hearing her like that. I squeezed her a little tighter to me, perfectly content to stay like this forever. I had forgotten that Alice was expecting an answer until she moved her chin to rest on my upper chest so she could look at me questioningly.

"Did you know that you change expressions when you draw?" I asked, trying to turn the questioning back on her. She looked back at me confusedly before shaking her head no. I grinned at her soft pout and continued. "Well, you do. You frown slightly when you're drawing a darker line. You smile while you're shading something in. And when you add detail, you look like you're concentrating incredibly hard, almost like you're glaring at the paper. I think I even saw you stick your tongue out a bit at one point," I said, grinning when she gasped at my last observation. She shook her head violently, apparently not wanting to believe that she would ever do such a thing. I chuckled at her childish reaction before I reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "It's true," I said triumphantly before she swatted my hand away. She was trying to hide the grin that was slowly making its way across her lips.

"You're making that up. I do not stick my tongue out."

"Do so."

"Do not."

"Do so."

"Do not."

"Alice."

"Bella."

"You so do." I said with a laugh. She glared at me before turning her head so that her cheek was once again lying on my chest. I heard her begin to grumble and again chuckled.

"I do not…" she mumbled out while snuggling closer to me and completely destroying any argument that I had against her.

"Okay, Ali. If you say so." I felt her nod softly against me as she squeezed me tighter to her.

We lay there in silence for what seemed like hours, both of us content to never have to move again. The only movements that either of us made was to softly kiss the other. Alice seemed to like kissing right below my collarbone, as she did so multiple times.

After what seemed like eternity but was all too soon, we had to break apart. I buried my nose in Alice's hair, breathing in deeply before I let my breath out to cascade down her neck. Alice, surprisingly, shivered. I pulled back, confused as to why a vampire would ever shiver given their naturally cold temperatures.

"That felt really good, Bella. It was a good shiver…" Alice whispered out, knowing what I was about to ask. Her voice sounded as if she was about to fall asleep and I found myself wishing that my little vampire could sleep to escape all of the drama that always seemed to find us. I was about to say such when Alice cut me off. "I'm glad I can't sleep, actually. Well, I am now that I have you." She moved so that she was looking me in the eye. "Watching you sleep is much more peaceful and relaxing than sleep ever would be. And being with you in general is as much of an escape as I'll ever need." She smiled sweetly at me before she leaned up and kissed my chin. "But I do believe that it's feeding time for the human," she said, giggling when I stuck my tongue out at her.

"And if I say no?" I asked, trying to be stubborn but failing when my stomach let out a traitorous growl. "Treason!" I yelled playfully with a mock look of disgust on my face making Alice laugh on top of me. I joined her quickly, holding her as close to me as possible.

When we both calmed down, Alice climbed off of me and offered her hand. "Milady?" she asked with a slight bow.

"Oh, aren't you the gentleman?" She stepped back and threw her hand against her chest, aghast.

"Excuse me, but I would be a gentlewoman!" She stopped abruptly and motioned to her body. "Do you not see these curves? I could never be mistaken for a man!" she yelled in mock offense, the gleam in her eye indicating that she was far from upset.

I stroked my chin, pretending to think over what she had said. I let my eyes wander her body, from her short spiky hair to her curvy yet slender midsection to her toned legs and all the way to her feet before I brought them back up again. I spun a finger in the air, signaling for her to twirl for me. Alice did so, but not before rolling her eyes.

"Well…" I started. "If you wore a hoodie and some baggy pants—" Alice lunged at me, affectively cutting me off and pinning me to the bed in the same motion.

"Take it back," she growled out. Had I not known better, I would have actually thought she was angry with me.

"Nope. I was taught not to lie," I said cheekily, grinning my best award-winning innocent grin at my girlfriend. She narrowed her eyes at me before speaking again.

"You had better take that back."

"Or what?" I asked smugly. Alice's glare quickly turned into a cocky smirk as her golden eyes lit up even more.

"Or this," she said before she dragged her fingers down my sides. I gulped as she began her torture once again, but held onto my resolve. Alice's smirk grew as she watched my reaction before she suddenly jerked into motion. Her fingers danced across my sides, tickling me wildly. I instantly burst into laughter and started squirming, trying to get out from under my stronger girlfriend.

"Alice!" I gasped out multiple times, trying to get air into my lungs. She paused her attack after a few minutes of this, waiting to see if I'd give in.

"Take it back?" she asked cockily, obviously thinking that she had won. I glared back at her as I tried to catch my breath.

In a last attempt to escape her, I leaned up and kissed her as passionately as I could. Alice immediately responded, moving her lips in synchronization with mine. I let my tongue sneak between my lips and licked her bottom lip softly. She gasped in surprise, not used to me taking the initiative like this. I took the opening she gave me and pushed my tongue into her mouth. Our tongues battled for dominance, though I knew Alice wasn't trying all that hard to win. I pushed her back against the bed and laid myself atop her, chest against chest and stomach against stomach. I pressed myself more tightly against her, trying to remove any space that was left between us.

Alice let out a low moan at this, making me want to do nothing else but kiss her more and never stop. But I fought that urge and quickly sprung off of her, dashing for the door. I looked over my shoulder quickly to see a confused and flustered Alice still lying on the bed with her arms in the air as if she was still holding me to her.

I laughed quickly before dashing out of the door and downstairs to where I knew at least some of the family would be relaxing after the long day. I found Jasper and Edward lying across two separate couches when I entered the room. They both looked up at me as I stood looking around wildly for an escape route.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Jasper asked as I ran through the room and dove behind one of the couches trying to protect myself. I heard Edward chuckle from on the couch that I had dove behind and couldn't help the breathy laugh that escaped me.

"Don't tell her I'm here," I whispered out, though I knew she'd find me easily. Again, Edward chuckled.

"Okay, Bella. If you say so," he said playfully, probably having read Alice's thoughts from upstairs.

"Bella, what…?" Jasper began to ask again before Alice's yell from upstairs cut him off.

"ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!" she screamed. The next instant she was in the room, huffing about. "Bella, I know you're back there. Get up," she said. I could hear the frustration in her voice and poked my head up so that my forehead and eyes were visible. I glanced at Edward to find him smirking as he went back to reading the incredibly thick book in his hands. When I looked back at Alice, I found her tapping her foot with her arms crossed across her chest, looking at me expectantly. I ducked back behind the couch quickly, trying to avoid her death glare. "Bella…" She drew out my name and I couldn't help feeling a little triumphant at making her so frustrated. In a good way, of course… I hoped.

I chanced another glance at my girlfriend to find her still glaring at me, though I could distinctly see the glimmer in her eyes meaning that she was frustrated, yes, but she was enjoying my little game.

I pulled myself out a little more, placing my elbows on the top of the couch and resting my chin in my hands.

"And what're you going to do about it if I choose not to?" I asked cheerfully, egging her on slightly.

I knew the instant that Edward got up and moved, pulling Jasper along with him, that Alice had told him to do so and that I was in for it. I gulped quickly before I tried to hide again behind the couch. Unfortunately for me, Alice had known what I was about to do and had sprung across the room and pulled me out from my hiding space and onto her on the couch. She held me to her as she laid under me, grinning triumphantly before she pulled on a pout. I rolled my eyes at my childish girlfriend's faux mood swing and grinned at her. Alice held firmly to her charade and looked down sadly.

"Bella… Why'd you do that…?" Alice asked with over exaggerated sadness in her voice. I chuckled softly before I kissed her nose and saw the smile that was tugging at her lips.

"May I have a human moment first?" I asked, using the first excuse I could think of to escape her grasp. Grudgingly, Alice nodded and released me. I got up and walked to the entryway, pausing once I was in the hall. I looked back at my girlfriend, still lying across the couch. Alice looked back at me questioningly as she took in my triumphant grin. A sudden look of realization came across her features as she sprung up into a standing position. "Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" I asked with a wink before sprinting into the hall bathroom and locking the door behind me.

Alice's little tantrum could be heard throughout the house and I couldn't fight back the laughter that broke from me. Apparently, neither could most of her siblings.

**A/N: So I hope you all liked that little fluffy chapter. Let me know if ya'll want some more fluffy stuff or if you want me to get back into the action. I'm certain there will be mixed reviews, but I'll be taking this as a poll and the majority will win. So make sure to put your input in.**

**Anywho… That's it for right now. I'll hopefully post again sooner rather than later, but it's getting closer to the end of the semester over here and I need to crack down on my work and stop slacking as much as I have been. **

**For anyone who hasn't noticed, I've put up a new story other than my recent one-shot Young London. This new one is called Wounded Cry. It's probably really different than anything you've read before, but I promise it'll be good… I hope. I've had good reviews so far, so go check it out if you get a chance. A new chapter for that should be up shortly.**

**Alright, that's all for now.**

'**Till next time! ^_^**


	23. Getting to Know Each Other

**A/N: Okay, so I know I owe you all an incredibly good explanation as to why I haven't updated in over two months. But, I won't go into any specifics other than saying that life got in the way. A lot. I will, however, apologize profusely for neglecting this story as well as my other one. This chapter is much longer than any of my other ones so far, so hopefully it will help with the hate you all probably feel toward me for not updating sooner. **

**As always, Twilight and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, not myself. But I do own this plot and any OCs that I create.**

**AliceandBellaforever: I would tell you, but you're just going to have to wait, not to be mean. She will be changed eventually, but even I don't know when, to be honest. I haven't planned that far out yet. **

**Aussie Royal: Thank you very much. This is another cute chapter that has a lot of fluff in it, so hopefully you'll have the same reaction this time.**

**Chaseherchiss: Thanks! I actually based it off of how my ex and I used to act together. I tried to zone in on that and write it as well as possible.**

**Tomwillisrulz: Well thank you for your input. I mostly got fluff, so I think I'm going to go with that for a bit. This chapter is all fluff and filling in some gaps that I left earlier in the story. So your vote just counted as one for both.**

**Thank you all for your input so far. But, as I just told Tom, most people voted for fluff, so that's mainly what this chapter is. Hope you all like it. ^-^**

"You're such a brat, you know that?" Alice asked me for the umpteenth time. I rolled my eyes at her again before going back to the book I was reading.

"And you're a sore loser. You know that?" I countered, not taking my eyes off my book. I heard Alice grumble and lowered my book so I could see her sitting above me. I was currently laying with my head in her lap on the couch and had been doing so for the past few hours. It was just the two of us home, so it was finally quiet around the house. Not that I minded everyone else. It was just nice to have some quiet time with just Alice.

"I am not a sore loser. You just don't play fair." Alice pouted above me, crossing her arms in protest and slouching against the couch. I chuckled to myself before sitting up and turning to face her.

"Sorry to be the one to break it to you, hon, but they say all's fair in love and war. I would have thought you'd have heard that one by now." Alice rolled her eyes at me before sticking her tongue out. "Mature." Again, she stuck her tongue out. "Okay then. You stay down here and pout, but I'm going up to your room to get comfortable. You're welcome to join me when you're done," I said before pushing up off the couch and making my way to the staircase. I knew I wouldn't have to wait long before she'd join me.

As soon as I got to her room and lay down on her bed, Alice was walking through the door and over to me, pout still on her face. I smiled sweetly at her as she walked to me, trying to get her to smile back.

"Oh come on, Ali. Stop pouting." I reached out to her and pulled her down next to me on the bed. She didn't let the pout drop but still cuddled up next to me. "Please, Alice?" I asked again, putting a little pout into my voice. She glanced up at me before quickly looking away again. With a sigh, she finally spoke.

"Fine…" she said, sitting up and dragging me with her. "But that doesn't mean I won't get you back. And it's going to be when you least expect it." She glanced at me again before moving so that she was straddling my back and pulled me against her. It wasn't hard to get comfortable with her, and I instantly relaxed against her frame. "You are now warned." I laughed at how serious her voice sounded, which resulted in a scoff from her. "You think I'm kidding."

"Oh, I know you're not kidding. You just sounded so serious," I laughed out after trying and failing to sound serious as well. I turned my head sideways and looked up at my girlfriend, trying to read her expression. Her face was scrunched up as she looked back at me. I had to fight the smirk that pulled at my lips as I watched her.

Alice grumbled before looking away and glaring at the wall. _Poor wall,_ I thought to myself before I reached for Alice's face and pulled it down, kissing her softly. "I don't think that wall deserves a glare that severe," I said jokingly once we broke apart.

"It's either that or glare at my cocky girlfriend." I mock gasped, channeling all I knew of over dramatizing into the action.

"Cocky girlfriend? Do I need to be jealous?" Alice looked at me again, raising her eyebrow.

"Really, Bella?" she asked, fighting off her smirk.

"Well yeah. There's no way you're talking about me. We've been through the whole cocky thing before, remember? Plus, I'm completely innocent in this." I grinned at her as innocently as possible, causing her to roll her eyes once again. "What?"

"Innocent is not a word to describe you, love. Sorry to burst your bubble," Alice said, patting my head like I was a little child. I swatted her hand away before moving so that I was kneeling over her.

"What do you mean, I'm not innocent? You started all of this. And, sorry to be the one to tell you this, but 'burst your bubble' hasn't been in for at _least_ ten years," I argued.

"Maybe not, but it works. And just because I started it doesn't mean… well, never mind. It does." Alice drug her hand down her face before sighing in defeat. "Fine. Can we call a truce?" She asked, leaning forward so she was resting on her elbows behind her. I thought about it for a moment before nodding.

"And how do we seal this deal?" I asked.

"Easily," Alice replied before leaning forward more and pressing her lips to mine. She spoke again after she pulled away from me. "Like that." She grinned triumphantly before falling back against the bed with her hands supporting her head. I smiled back at her before laying down beside her. Alice moved one of her arms around me and pulled me toward her so that my head was resting on her chest. Not complaining in the least, I wrapped an arm around her and held her to me.

We lay like that in silence for a while, both content to just be with each other. I started to look around the room out of curiosity, and focused in Alice's vanity mirror. I couldn't see what all of the pictures were that framed it, but I could tell most were of Alice and her family. Alice followed my line of sight and spoke when she saw what I was staring at.

"I like having pictures of everyone. It's kind of a habit of mine. Not everyone enjoys having them taken, but I like having them. I don't want to forget anything." I nodded against her chest, still focusing on the photos across the room.

"Which is your favorite?" I asked purely out of curiosity. Alice moved me swiftly yet gently so she could get up. By the time I realized what had happened, she was back beside me with two photos in her hands.

"It's hard to pick one, but I could narrow it down to two." She handed me the pictures before she settled down next to me and got back in our previous position. "This one," she said, pointing to the picture on top, "was taken a few years ago on a family trip to Alaska. Emmet had just tried to hit Edward with a snowball, which then led to Edward throwing one back. He hit Rosalie. Let's just say that she didn't take it all too well and an epic snowball fight followed. We were all covered in snow by the end on of it." I examined the picture. Rosalie was standing off to the side with her arms crossed, but I could see the grin pulling at her lips. Beside her, Emmet stood with a big grin on his face and a snowball in his hand. Jasper and Edward were standing off on the other side, Jasper knocking some snow out of Edward's hair. The smile on Edward's face was probably the happiest one I've ever seen on him. And then, sitting in the middle, completely covered in snow, was my Alice. She was laughing and trying to get some of the snow off of her.

I smiled at the picture after taking it all in. "That's a really good picture. Where were Esme and Carlisle?"

"They opted to stay out of the fight. But Esme came out when it was over with my camera and shot that before we all left. I couldn't be happier that she did." I looked up to see Alice smiling fondly at the picture in my hand. After a moment she realized I was watching her and turned to smile at me. "What're you looking at?" she asked, her smile full of love.

"Just you," I answered before leaning up and kissing her swiftly. I turned back to the photos to look at the second one. "And what's this one?" I asked before I moved it to the front. I couldn't help the smile that came when I saw what it was.

"And this," Alice said, kissing my temple, "Is probably my favorite of them all." I glanced at her before looking back to the picture. It was of both of us laying in her bed at night. The moon was full behind us and the light from it filled up the room. Alice was watching me sleep in her arms, a warm smile on her face. It was a great picture, I couldn't deny that.

"Who took it?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the picture in front of me.

"Jasper, actually. He came in to see if you were all right, and saw that you were asleep. He didn't want to wake you up, but he said he couldn't pass up the moment. I'll be forever grateful that he didn't," Alice said, pulling me closer to her and burying her nose in my hair. I smiled again before placing the photos beside us on the bed.

"That was nice of him," I said, cuddling closer to my vampire. She held me tighter in return. I had noticed that my shirt had risen up a bit and I felt her cool hand against my left side. I hadn't thought anything of it until her thumb started tracing the bottom of my scar. Her hand froze as she felt the jagged edge of my burn.

Not knowing what else to do, I grabbed her hand and pulled it away from my side, wrapping her arm around me instead.

"Bella?" she asked, curious but not wanting to push. I sighed before answering her.

"No one's ever seen it except for the doctor that treated it…" I trailed off, burrowing closer to my girlfriend.

"May I see it?" Alice asked, leaning so that she could see my face. I thought on it a moment, nibbling my lip in the process. Slowly, I released her hand and sat up, bringing my hands down to the edge of my shirt. I nodded once before pulling my shirt up just as slowly. Alice moved next to me so she could see me fully. She leaned up so that she was resting on her hand as she watched me raise my shirt. I watched her, trying to gauge her reaction as I pulled my shirt up and over my head and fully exposing my scar. Her features gave nothing away.

Alice quietly told me to lie down, not taking her eyes off my side as I did so. I watched as she slowly moved her hand so that her fingertips were directly against the bottom of my scar. I closed my eyes at the feeling of her cool hand against me. She began to move her fingers along the outline of my scar. I didn't need to look to know that she was tracing it. I had the ghastly thing memorized, burned into my mind.

As Alice reached where my scar began, she flattened her palm against it softly. I felt her move and opened my eyes to see her hovering slightly above me, her hand still against my stomach. Alice remained silent as she stared into my eyes, trying to find something in them. Her expression was serious as she studied me.

The silence lasted what seemed like forever before Alice finally spoke.

"You're beautiful," she whispered out. I scoffed before pointing to my scar.

"Did you not see this? It isn't beautiful, Alice. It's hideous." I scowled at it. Alice shook her head, her serious expression never leaving.

"Bella, this," she traced down my scar again, "this is beauty." I fought the urge to roll my eyes, not able to see anything but ugliness in my burn.

"No it's not. It's grotesque. It's an ugly reminder of the past that will never leave me. It's not beauty, Alice. It's…" I trailed off, not able to think of a strong enough word to describe how I felt about it. Again, Alice shook her head.

"No, Bella." She then moved so that she was lying on my legs, though she supported her weight on her arms. "This," she said before placing a kiss on the bottom of my scar. "Is," another kiss, halfway up it. "Beauty," she ended, kissing the very top of my scar. "Scars make us who we are. They're a part of us, and they help tell our stories. Scars are what make us beautiful." She smiled softly at me before leaning up to kiss me tenderly.

"Thank you," I said quietly once she broke contact. Alice nodded before moving off me so I could put my shirt back on. She pulled me to her once I had it back on, laying us both down again.

"May I ask you something?" Alice asked after a moment of silence. I nodded silently, cuddling closer to her. "How did you keep the press away after everything that happened? There wasn't a single interview with you after the fire."

"Ryan," I said simply. Alice nudged me when I fell silent and didn't continue, silently asking me for more information. I sighed before speaking again. "Ryan was very protective of me from the very beginning. He made sure that I always had someone with me and he never let any of the press get to me. I'm not exactly sure how he did it all those years, but he managed." I shrugged and fell silent again.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Alice said minutes later. Shocked, I raised up on my elbow to see her clearly.

"What for?"

"For not being there for you back then. For not being the one to protect you. For not making sure you were okay. For everything you went through." I smiled softly at her and reached my free hand up to trace her jaw.

"Ali, you're here now. That's all that matters. From now until forever." Alice smiled in return, reaching up to cup my cheek.

"Forever is a really long time, Bella," she said, a sad smile on her face. I leaned into her hand, nodding.

"I know it is. But I want to spend it with you." Alice's smile slowly fell as she watched me.

"Bella, you don't know what that means-" I cut her off, knowing exactly where she was going with that.

"No, I do know what it means. It means that you'd have to change me. But I want it. I've thought about it, and I've decided that I don't want to ever have to leave you. Not even in death." Alice's became completely serious as she shook her head.

"It's not that easy, Bells. To change someone requires an intense amount of control on the vampire's part. Something that I don't have right now. I can't trust myself to even try." Alice broke eye contact to stare across the room. "And the pain for you… it would be excruciating." She looked back at me. "I don't want you to go through that."

I shook my head fervently, trying to get my point across. "But I do, Alice. I really…" I trailed off, realizing that she might be rejecting the idea for a different reason. "Unless… unless you don't want to be with me for that long." I looked away, not able to handle any reaction that may come across her face. A silence fell over the room as neither of us moved. When minutes past and Alice still hadn't spoken, I moved to get up off the bed. "I'll be leaving then," I said once I was standing. I began to walk to the door, but was stopped by a cold hand on my arm.

"Bella, hang on," Alice said, sounding flustered. I turned to look at her and saw her shocked expression. "I can't even believe that you would suggest such a thing," she spoke again, releasing my arm to grasp my shoulders. Her features became serious as she stared into my eyes. "Bella, I want to spend the rest of my existence with you. I can't imagine not having you in my life." Alice then pulled me to her in a hug. I, in turn, gripped her to me, burying my face in her neck. "Silly, silly human," she chuckled out before lifting me up and setting us both back on the bed.

"So…" I trailed off as I played with the hem of my vampire's shirt once we were settled. "You'll change me, then?" I chanced a glance up at her to see her watching me curiously. She then lifted her right hand to move a stray strand of hair out of my face before she cupped my cheek, her thumb rubbing my cheekbone lightly.

"Give me time, Bella. After you're absolutely certain that it is what you want and after I've trained…" she trailed off and kissed my forehead. She lay her head down on the pillow again and stared up at the ceiling in silence before continuing. "I'll change you." I couldn't fight off the smile pulling at my lips at hearing that. Alice looked down at me and smiled. "Well someone's happy," she said, humor clear in her voice. I nodded quickly before leaning up and kissing her.

"Who wouldn't be happy to spend all eternity with you?" I asked, once we broke apart.

"Well, you've got that right," Alice answered with a grin. I laughed at her cockiness before rolling and pulling her along next to me. She lay on her side against my side and pulled me to her before resting her head on my shoulder. "Oh!" Alice jumped up moments later, startling me out of my comfortable reverie. "I completely forgot!" I sat up quickly, not knowing what was happening.

"What's wrong?" I asked quickly, trying to gauge what happened. Alice jumped off the bed and over to her bedside table, opening the drawer and pulling out a box. "What's that?" I asked, eyeing the box questionably.

"This, my love, is a present. I told you that I was going to get you one." She handed me the box and motioned for me to open it. It was wrapped nicely in shiny silver wrapping paper. I tore it off carefully, not wanting to cut myself or rip the paper more than necessary. Alice watched giddily, bouncing up and down where she was sitting next to me.

"Alice, calm down," I chuckled out, as I finished getting the wrapping paper off. I turned the box over in my hands to see that it was a cell phone box. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Nope. Not at all. You're already set up on our family plan, so you don't have to worry about that. Everything's paid for and you have unlimited everything on there. So now you can keep in touch with the outside world," Alice said, smiling grandly at me. She seemed so proud of herself, and I just couldn't upset that. I pulled her to me and hugged her tightly.

"Thanks, Alice. That was really thoughtful of you," I said before pulling away to look at my phone again.

"It's not really fancy. I knew you wouldn't want it to be," Alice said, taking the box from me and opening it. "It's actually really simple. It has a camera, texting, and calling on it, but that's it. Nothing too complex." She smiled at me as she handed back the now powered up phone. "I already took the liberty to put all of our numbers in it. I didn't know who else you'd want to have in there, but there's plenty of space for whoever you want." I scrolled through the contacts.

"'Alice, (the only person that really matters)?' Really, Alice?" I laughed out at her choice of name in my phone. Alice smiled innocently at me.

"It's true, though, and you know it," she said, flopping back on the bed. I laughed before agreeing.

"Yeah, yeah. Way to be modest, though," I chuckled out. Alice giggled before holding her arms out for me to join her. I did so after putting my new phone on the bedside table.

"Okay, my turn to ask something," I said as soon as I got comfortable. Alice nodded, silently telling me to continue. "Well, that day when you were bringing me to see Jake on the reservation and, well… when it went down hill, you said something. You told me to keep you there. What exactly did you mean by that?" I asked, trying to be as sensitive about the subject as possible.

"I had a feeling that you'd ask about that eventually," Alice said as she began to rub my back softly. "Vampires aren't just humans with a taste for blood, Bella. We each have a monster in us that fights for control and can take over when certain things happen. Like when we hunt. That monster takes over our instincts and drives us to kill. It will do anything possible to get what it wants, consequently making us monsters as well." I nodded against her chest, waiting for her to continue. "They take us over and we can't control ourselves anymore. We lose ourselves in the process. It's like we can't think clearly anymore. And when Jacob was there that day, trying to take you away from me, my monster took over. I didn't fight it off because I agreed with it. Someone was trying to take my mate away, and I wouldn't stand for it. But I got lost in that. I couldn't think straight and I only wanted to kill Jacob to get him away from you." Alice looked down at me, holding eye contact. "But you made me see reason again. You calmed me down. And when I did calm, I saw that I was losing myself and if I did, I would probably lose you as well. I can't ever risk that." I nodded again before pulling myself closer to her.

"I won't let you, Ali," I whispered. Alice leaned down and kissed the top of my head. Silence fell over us again, both of us content to just be. It had started to rain in the time that we had been upstairs, the sound of the raindrops hitting the roof echoing through the silent house. I turned in Alice's arms so that I could watch it falling outside the window. "You said before that vampires mate for life. And Rosalie mentioned something along the same lines when we spoke a while back," I began speaking, not talking louder than absolutely necessary so as to not drown out the sound of the rain.

Alice mumbled an "mhm" as she burrowed closer to me, breathing my scent in.

"And you just called me your mate." I turned over in her arms to find her staring directly back at me. Her expression was cautious, her eyes searching as she watched me. "Is that true?" I asked. Alice nodded slowly, almost as if she was afraid of my reaction. "And you're certain?" I asked again, just wanting to be sure. Again, Alice nodded.

I smiled at her before leaning in to kiss her softly. I moved a breath away, watching her with eyes half closed.

"Well then, my mate, come play with me in the rain," I said before swiftly kissing her again and hopping off the bed. I ran to the door and out into the hallway before I heard Alice laugh. The next instant I was in her arms and she was running down the stairs and out the back door, into the pouring rain.

**A/N: Alright. There you have it. Another chapter in FA finished. I hope you all liked it and it was up to your standards.**

**Again, I am so incredibly sorry about not updating sooner. Hopefully I'll be able to get back into the flow of writing and have more updates up sooner. Thank you all for sticking with me, though.**

'**Til next time! ^-^**


	24. New Student

**A/N: Alright, guys. I'm sorry that it's taking so long to update recently. School's started back up and I'm really trying to get the best grades possible this semester. So it has become a priority. Unfortunately, that means that this story has had to go on the back burner for a bit. But, when I do update, I'll try to make longer chapters rather than the shorter ones that I have posted before. That way you'll hopefully be satisfied for at least a little bit.**

**Anywho, this chapter introduces a new character. He's going to be playing a huge part in the story. Just a warning.**

**Lynettecullen: Sorry that I'm making you all wait. I know it sucks. But thanks for sticking with me anyway. ^-^**

**AliceandBellaforever: Sorry, you're going to have to let your imagination run with what happened in the rain. It's mentioned in here, but I didn't write it out.**

**JaneRocksHard: Thank you so much! That is so good hear.**

**Ra'iira The Fiend: Welcome to the FA universe. Haha. And thanks for all the reviews. They were very much appreciated.**

**W. Cullen: Oh my goodness. I loved all of your reviews. They made me smile. I was thinking that I had gotten a bunch from different people, and I pop on to check, and they're all from you. And reading through them was very helpful and entertaining. Your idea was really good. I may incorporate some of that into it, but I'm not sure how I want all of that to happen just yet. If you have any more ideas, please share. I'd love to hear them. ^_^**

**Alrighty, then. That's it for the review responses. I know that normal people respond with PMs, but those are boring and I'd much rather respond this way so that everyone can see my appreciation and so that I can answer questions that people have for everyone.**

**As always, Twilight and all of its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. This story and any OC's I add belong to me, however, and I would appreciate it if no one stole them. Thanks! ^-^**

"Ah-choo!"

"I told you that you'd get sick."

"Oh, shut up," I said, glaring at my girlfriend as we walked away from her car. "And it was just a sneeze. I'm not sick."

Alice glanced at me. "Give it a day," she replied, worry and smugness warring on her features.

I rolled my eyes before grabbing her hand and leading her into the school. "And, if I remember correctly, you're the one that decided to stay out in the rain to play hide-and-seek once it got dark. Most humans would get sick after doing that."

Alice stuck her tongue out at me before pulling me to a stop.

"I didn't hear you complaining," she answered challengingly.

I couldn't argue with that. It had been fun playing the childhood game with her in the rain. We had stayed out playing for hours. And making out with my soaking wet girlfriend while it continued to downpour around us wasn't so bad, either. Let's just say, a wet Alice makes an incredibly happy Bella.

I pulled my hand out of Alice's grasp before crossing my arms and turning away from her.

"That's what I thought," she said smugly, before placing her hand on the small of my back and pushing softly, directing me toward our first class. I let my hands fall and unconsciously reached for hers, lacing our fingers together. I saw Alice smiling softly out of the corner of my eye and couldn't keep my own smile from appearing on my lips. We both knew that I couldn't actually stay mad at her for much longer than a minute.

We fell into content silence as we continued through the school.

But, of course, our peaceful walk through the halls was interrupted by another sneeze. I abruptly jerked to a stop, pulling Alice along with me, squeezing my eyes shut and trying to cover my face all at the same time. When I reopened them, there was a handkerchief hanging loosely in front of me. I glanced over at Alice, planning to thank her, when I noticed her glaring at something ahead of us. Her grip tightened on my hand before I slowly looked up into the eyes of the person actually holding the offered handkerchief.

In front of me stood a boy, shaggy brown hair covering his eyes. He quickly shook his bangs out of his way, revealing bright green eyes. I studied his features for a moment longer. His face was chiseled with light stubble forming, lending to the assumption that he hadn't shaved that morning. He had high cheekbones, accenting his eyes. His body was toned from what I could see, and he wore clothing that made him look like an Abercrombie and Fitch model.

I looked at Alice questioningly before realizing that this boy was still waiting for me to take his offering. I straightened myself up quickly, staring the guy directly in the eye and tightening my hold on Alice. Even if I had made a fool of myself just moments ago, I would try to gain some dignity.

"Uhm, thank you," I said, reaching out to grab the handkerchief. The boy smiled warmly at me, and stood a bit straighter. I realized then that he was quite a bit taller than me, meaning that he actually towered over Alice. I glanced at Alice out of the corner of my eye to see that she was still glaring at the boy menacingly.

A silence fell over us, no one moving an inch. The boy continued to watch me, seemingly unaware of the anger rolling off of Alice in palpable waves. I rubbed the back of her hand softly with my thumb, trying to get her to calm down.

Finally, Alice spoke.

"We have to go," she said shortly, pulling me around the boy still blocking our way and then further down the hall. For a moment, it seemed as if we would be able to make a clean getaway without having to actually speak to the strange boy.

"Wait!" I heard a smooth voice call. I knew instantly that it was the same guy from a moment before, and argued with myself for a moment as to whether I should try and pull Alice to a stop. Alice answered for me by stopping herself. She quickly turned around to glare once again at the stranger. I turned as well, wondering why he would call after us.

"What?" Alice asked, clearly annoyed that this boy would even consider trying to stop us. I glanced worriedly at her, curious as to why she was acting so strangely. Normally, Alice was full of friendliness, often starting conversations up with random strangers that she had never even seen before. I'd seen her do so many times while she dragged me around shopping with her, something that she tried to do more than I liked.

Alice's stare never fell from the boy in question, and the phrase 'if looks could kill' popped in my head before I realized that looks wouldn't have to kill. Alice could kill with her bare hands if she wanted to. And it would only take her a few seconds to kill this boy.

I shook the thought from my head and turned my attention back to said boy.

"I was just wondering if you could help me out. I'm new here, and I haven't been able to find my first class," he answered, his eyes never leaving mine. Alice's grip tightened on my hand once again before her hand fell from mine and her arm wrapped securely around my waist. I could feel the tension boiling in her, and worried that she may, in fact, attack the new kid.

I placed my hand on the nape of her neck and massaged the skin there gently. I felt her relax minutely under my touch.

"Uhm, what class?" I asked before Alice could get in a word. I chanced another glance at her and saw that her jaw was still tight and that she had yet to take her eyes off the boy. She was becoming very protective, and I still had no idea why. This was just a new kid, right? What could he do?

"It's…" he trailed off, looking at his schedule. "Oh, it's Biology with Mr. Banner." He smiled at me again, his eyes lighting up. He seemed like a genuinely happy guy, not just someone trying to fake it. Normally, someone like that would have Alice smiling in return, but that didn't seem to be the case with this guy.

"That's actually-" I began before Alice cut me off.

"That way," she answered, pointing in the completely opposite direction than where we were heading and where the class actually was. I stared at her curiously, wondering what could possibly have gotten into her.

The boy's smile fell and his expression became curious as he seemed to finally notice Alice beside me. He studied her briefly, his eyes traveling over her frame. A sudden surge of jealousy swam through me before I quickly pushed it down. I didn't want to cause a scene any more than the one already made. A survey of our surroundings showed that our little group was already the attention of everyone around us. A couple of people began to try and mention that the new guy's class was actually in the other direction, but quickly stopped themselves with one look at Alice.

"Thank you," the boy responded with a curt nod in Alice's direction. He regarded her coolly and almost grudgingly before he turned back to me with a smile. "I'm Daniel, by the way. Daniel Malick." He extended his hand to me and I slowly reached mine out to grasp his, letting go of Alice's neck. I meant for the handshake to be quick, but he seemed to have other ideas, his hand grasping mine firmly and holding on for much longer than needed. He stepped closer to me, making him only a step away. I tried to pry my hand out of his, but to no avail. His grip was much stronger than I expected.

"Maybe we can meet up later," Daniel said with a crooked grin. I could feel Alice fuming at my side and firmly tugged my hand out of Daniel's grasp finally, an uneasy feeling filling me.

"Yeah, maybe," I answered quietly, wanting nothing more than to get Alice alone and figure out what had her so riled up. I glanced at her again to see that her eyes had closed and that she was taking deep breaths. I wrapped my arm around her and turned her, trying to lead her in the direction of our class. She followed my lead without any resistance, keeping her eyes closed the entire time and relying on me to lead her. "See you later," I said as an after thought to Daniel, and then turned my attention back to Alice.

"Bye, Bella!" I heard Daniel yell before being pulled to a sudden stop by Alice next to me. She spun her head to look back at Daniel so fast that I worried she may have given herself whiplash before I realized how ridiculous that worry was of me. A low growl was emitting from Alice's chest, and I moved closer to her.

"Alice, what's wrong?" I asked quietly as I watched Daniel walk down the hallway over her shoulder. She didn't turn to look at me until long after he disappeared around the corner.

"He knew your name," she answered evenly. Her tone was calm, and I knew that she was hiding her emotions away.

"Don't do that." Alice looked at me questioningly before she tilted her head to the side in a silent question. "Don't hide from me. Let me know what you're thinking." My voice was almost a whisper, but I didn't worry about her hearing me with her superior hearing.

I watched as recognition lit her eyes. Alice reached forward and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry. I hadn't meant to. That Daniel just rubbed me the wrong way. Something about him didn't seem right." I pulled away far enough to look into Alice's eyes.

"What do you mean? He seemed pretty normal to me." Alice shook her head.

"You probably wouldn't have noticed it. He smelled different, though. Different than anything I've ever smelt before. It was strange." She paused and glanced down to the floor. "And I didn't like how he acted toward you. It just irked me."

I smiled as I realized that Alice's behavior was mainly a reflection of jealousy. Reaching out to cup her cheek, I cooed quietly. Alice's gaze met mine in a questioning glance.

"What?" she asked, hesitantly.

"That's just really sweet of you," I answered, lowering my hand to grip hers. We began walking down the hall once again, toward our first class. "He's going to get into trouble for being late, you know."

Alice shrugged next to me. "His problem." Her tone was nonchalant, but I could feel the tension rolling off of her still. "I'm sure he'll be pointed in the right direction eventually," she added, as an afterthought.

I couldn't fight the smile that came to me hearing her try to act unbothered.

"And I'm sure that you wouldn't mind if you didn't see his face ever again," I answered, leading Alice into the room and back to our seats. Alice shrugged again, neither agreeing nor denying my statement. I chuckled as I lowered myself in my seat and got ready for class to start.

l1l1l1l1l1l1l1l1l1l1l

"What's her problem?" Emmett asked as we sat down at our lunch table. Alice huffed in response, crossing her arms over her chest and slouching in her chair. I placed my hand on her thigh, trying to calm her down a little.

"We've just had an interesting morning. We've had a few… encounters," I answered, watching Alice out of the corner of my eye. I saw her roll her eyes, but otherwise she remained silent.

Edward hummed in acknowledgement, having read Alice's thoughts. "That is odd," he said quietly, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Jasper sat stiffly next to him, Alice's bad mood probably affecting him more than anyone else at the table. I had been hoping that he would be able to calm her down with his talent, but apparently her own mood was too strong

"Would you like to let the rest of us in on this oddity?" Rosalie asked from across the table. She still didn't like me much, but we were at least more civil to each other now. She would even greet me without me having to say anything first. It may not have been much, but it was something, and I was working hard not to get on her bad side.

"There's a new guy at school. Daniel Malick. Alice doesn't like him much," I answered, turning to face Alice. "He's been in all of our classes so far. Alice isn't very happy about that, to say the least." I brushed a stray hair out of her face before placing my hand on her cheek, smiling softly. Alice leaned into my hand in response. "I'm not really sure why, though. He's been nothing but civil to us."

Alice scoffed and leaned away slightly. "To you, maybe. He likes you a bit too much, if you ask me." She sat up straighter, turning to face me as well. "He hasn't seemed to notice that you're not available. And there's just something about him that I don't like." Alice glanced at Edward quickly. I saw him nod subtly out of the corner of my eye, so I knew that she had thought something to him.

I looked between them, knowing that I had been left out of something once again. With a sigh, I began to pick at my food.

"Well, Shorty, here's your chance to show him once and for all that she's not available. New kid, twelve-o'clock," Emmett said from beside Rosalie across the table, pointing over our shoulders.

I turned to look behind me and found Daniel not ten feet away from us. He was looking around the cafeteria when his eyes finally fell on our table. A smile quickly fell to his face and he made his way toward us.

Alice had turned as well, and began growling when he started walking forward. She then quickly reached forward and grabbed my chair, pulling me right next to her so that there was no space between us. She scooted even closer, basically climbing into my lap. I sat startled for a moment before I relaxed against her frame, not bothering to question her actions.

Why would I complain about being closer to my girlfriend, anyway?

Everyone at the table continued to watch Daniel as he made his way closer.

"Hey, Bella," he greeted, his voice way too eager.

"Hi, Daniel." I didn't look away from Alice, trying to convey to her that everything was okay. She buried her head into my neck in response. I could feel her breathing in deeply often, and knew that she was having a bit of trouble controlling her protective nature. "It's alright," I whispered so that Daniel wouldn't hear.

Daniel had pulled up a chair while I had been watching Alice. He was sitting a bit too close to me, and I felt Alice growl against me. I again placed my hand on her thigh and caressed it softly.

All of the Cullen's were watching Daniel as if he were the oddest thing they had ever seen. They didn't seem too happy that he had decided to join our table. Rosalie's glare was even more intense for this boy than it ever was for me.

"Is your friend okay?" Daniel asked beside me, glancing at Alice quickly. Alice stiffened next to me before pulling away briefly and glaring at Daniel. He didn't seem fazed in the least, and actually looked to be almost challenging Alice. His eyebrow rose and his smirk grew.

The next thing I knew, I was being turned in my chair and Alice's lips were on mine. I quickly became lost in the kiss, not remembering where I was or whose company I was in. I didn't care, either.

I reached my hand behind Alice's neck and scratched at the soft hair there. Alice purred and pressed closer to me, running her tongue along my lower lip. I quickly opened up for her, more than happy to deepen the kiss. I felt her hand tangle in my hair and moaned into the kiss.

I was brought back to reality by a catcall from somewhere behind us in the crowded cafeteria. I pulled away slightly, but brushed my lips softly against Alice's again once more. Her eyes were still closed and a content smile was gracing her lips. I smiled myself at seeing that.

Alice's smile quickly turned back into a scowl when a throat cleared behind me. She looked over my shoulder, glaring at Daniel, who was still sitting there. I turned my head to look at him to find him still smirking at us. His gaze flickered to Alice, but then settled back on me.

I turned in my seat to face him, but leaned back into Alice. I didn't want him thinking that I didn't feel the same for Alice as she did for me. Alice's arms wrapped around me and held me tightly against her. I felt her burry her face back in my neck, and leaned my head a little away from her to give her more room. She kissed my neck softly before relaxing slightly against me.

"Well then," Daniel began. "I'll take that as her saying she that she's fine." Alice became stiff behind me before tightening her arms around me. "Anyway, I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me catch up on some of the material for our classes, Bella. It really is a welcome coincidence that we have all the same classes so far. Maybe we could go to the diner sometime. I've heard they have good food there."

This guy just couldn't take a hint.

Alice lifted her head, about to say something, but I spoke before she had the chance.

"I don't think I'd be much help in that department. I haven't been here the whole year either, so I'm still getting caught up myself. Alice has been trying to help me get caught up, but I'm afraid that I'm still a bit behind." I stroked Alice's arm softly when I mentioned her name. "I'm sure one of the other students would be more than happy to help, though. Or, you could even talk to some of the teachers. They're all very generous when it comes to helping their students. Mr. Banner especially. He can be very helpful."

Daniel's smile faltered for a second, but he caught it quickly. "Well, how about just a bite to eat, then? My treat?"

"Dude. She's taken. Can't you see that?" Emmett cut in from across the table. I looked over at him to find him glaring at Daniel. If I had been Daniel, I would have been terrified, but when I looked back to see his reaction, he was just smiling at Emmett.

"I can see that, thank you. I'm not blind. Can friends not go out to get something to eat, though?" Daniel asked. Emmett's jaw tensed and I knew that this would get very bad very quickly if something wasn't done.

"I'm sorry, Daniel, but I'm not interested. I'm very busy with school and everything, so I wouldn't have time to go out anyway. Thank you for the offer, though." I stood then, grabbing Alice's hand and dragging her with me. "Now, if you'll excuse us, Alice and I have to be somewhere."

Daniel stood quickly, grabbing his tray. "Mind if I walk you out?" he asked, grabbing his backpack from behind his chair.

"Yes, I do," Alice growled from beside me. I squeezed her hand reassuringly before addressing Daniel.

"We're fine on our own, thanks. We need to talk." Daniel started to speak again. "Alone," I said sternly.

Finally, Daniel's smile fell. "Oh, alright. Well, I'll see you around then. Maybe we'll have more classes together." That smile was back again, and I was quickly becoming annoyed with it.

I hummed in acknowledgement of his comment, but said nothing else before turning with Alice and walking out of the cafeteria.

I glanced back once we reached the door to find Daniel standing alone at the empty Cullen table.

**A/N: And that's the end of that one. I'm really, **_**really**_** going to try to update sooner next time, but we'll see what happens. I was actually working on this one during my sick day. So I felt Bella's pain. Sneezing and blowing my nose and all that jazz. **

**If anyone can guess how Daniel is going to be playing into this one, you'll become my best friend. Haha, just kidding. But I will be incredibly impressed. **

**I'm actually going in to get my computer fixed tomorrow. So hopefully I won't have to send it into the shop or anything. If that happens, it may take even longer for me to update. So here's to hoping that they'll be able to fix it easily. At the moment, it's acting strangely, and it's annoying.**

**Okay, I'm going to stop blabbering now and let ya'll go. Thanks for sticking with me even though I'm being ridiculous about updating. I'm trying to get better about that.**

**Reviews are loved and welcome. **

'**Til next time! ^-^**


	25. A Quick Escape

**A/N: Alrighty, so to begin with, I want to say that for everyone who reads my other story, Wounded Cry, it is going on hold until I'm done with this one. I wrote an notice in WC, but if you haven't read that yet, I'm letting you know here. **

**Secondly, you should be proud of me. I'm updating within a week of the last chapter. I think that's a record for the past few chapters. And, all because I love my readers so freaking much.**

**UltimateSk8erXD: Thank you. Sorry that I've been updating so rarely recently, but life does get in the way. I did update quickly this time, though. So I'm getting better! ^-^**

**Yokai-Kitsune-Kyuubi: I would love to tell you who Daniel is, but it's going to have to wait. Those are all really good guesses, though. And thanks about Alice's jealousy. I was really trying to get that right and not overplay it too much.**

**AliceandBellaforever: I really, **_**really**_** want to answer you. Like, really badly. But, unfortunately, it has to wait until it comes up in the story. Sigh. **

**Primrosered: One- I love primroses. Just thought I'd share that real quick. And Two- Thank you so much! That chapter was really fun to right and I'm really glad at how it turned out.**

**Alright, as always, Twilight and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, not me. This story and any OCs do belong to me, though.**

Unfortunately for us, the rest of the day went much the same. Alice and I were able to spend some time alone together during our free period, but Daniel just happened to be in Gym with me. When Alice found out, she wasn't very pleased.

"Seriously? He's in there, too?" Alice fumed, watching as Daniel walked into the boys' locker room. She had pulled me to a stop halfway down the hallway.

Alice glared in the direction of the locker room, almost as if by doing so, the whole thing would burst into flames. I sighed and ran my free hand over my face.

"Alice, honey, you have got to stop worrying about him. Nothing's going to happen. You of all people should know that." I squeezed her hand softly. Alice wouldn't meet my gaze, instead deciding to glare at the floor. "Ali?" I questioned, lifting her chin so that she'd look at me.

Alice hummed in acknowledgement, but said nothing else. She still refused to meet my gaze, looking over my shoulder instead.

A sudden thought made me smile brightly.

"What?" Alice asked me, not able to keep her curiosity at bay.

"I just thought of something that will make you feel better," I answered, turning back the way we came and pulling Alice along with me. "Come on."

I dragged Alice out into the parking lot, and led her to my truck. Luckily, Alice had agreed to let me drive today. She had been driving us to school and pretty much everywhere else, and I had missed driving, so I finally convinced her to let me drive my beast of a truck to school. Good thing too, or this plan wouldn't have really worked out as well.

I knew Alice loved surprises, and our destination being a surprise would make it even better. So I guess it was lucky that her visions weren't coming as often now, too.

Alice looked at me searchingly before shrugging and hopping in the passengers' side as I held the door open for her. I hurried over to the drivers' side as fast as I could, excited that I may actually be able to cheer Alice up after this horrid day.

Where we were headed always seemed to calm Alice, and she would always leave happier than when she had first arrived. It was almost inevitable for her to be in a better mood once we got there.

I smiled over at Alice as I pulled out of the parking spot before throwing my truck into drive and chugging forward. The drive would take longer in my ancient beast, but I doubted Alice would mind much. She seemed somewhat more content already, just sitting next to me and holding my hand. I knew she would rather be moving faster, but she was containing her impatience rather well – only her leg bouncing lightly showed that she getting twitchy at the slow pace.

The drive held barely any conversation. I had turned the radio on low so that the soft rhythm of the indie music would play in the background. Alice stared out the window the entire time, seemingly lost in her thoughts. I didn't want to interrupt, so I stayed quiet as well.

After a few moments, Alice looked over at me with a soft smile.

'This is really sweet of you, Bella. You didn't have to skip school, though. I could have made it through the rest of the day. It was just one more class."

I shrugged off her comment. "I'd rather be out here with you, anyway. You're more important than gym class." Alice smiled again at me before turning back to look out the window.

The drive did take longer than it would have if Alice were driving her Porsche. My truck could _maybe_ hit 50 without beginning to shake, and I didn't want to push it too much. The possibility of it breaking down seemed too eminent to push my luck. But, we did eventually make it to our destination, and Alice's reaction made it completely worth the longer drive.

Alice smiled brightly at me before leaning across the space between us, hugging me tightly once I had pulled to a stop. She soon let me go, though, and turned to get out of the truck. Already, she seemed much happier than when we left the school grounds.

I smiled after her, watching as she danced to the edge of the cliff. I then climbed out of the truck and followed her at a much slower and less graceful pace.

Alice stood at the edge with her arms spread out next to her. The scene from _Titanic_ of Jack holding Rose on the bow of the ship popped into my head and I couldn't suppress the chuckle that pushed its way out of me. Alice turned to face me, her arms still extended.

"What do you find so funny, Miss Swan?" She asked, dropping her arms dramatically. I shook my head with a smile before walking to her and wrapping my arms around her.

"Nothing important, Miss Cullen." Alice smiled up at me before leaning up and kissing me softly. I hummed against her lips before she pulled away. We stood like that in silence for a moment longer. The wind from the ocean blew at Alice's back, making her hair sway softly. As I watched her, I was reminded once again how lucky I was to have her. She really was the most amazing person I had ever met and probably ever would meet.

Alice's smile softened as she watched me. She reached up and traced the contours of my face softly. When her fingers traced my lips, I grabbed her hand, holding it and kissing her finger tips softly, one by one.

Twining our fingers, I lowered our hands slowly.

"Why don't we lay down?" I asked quietly, not wanting to break the sereneness of the moment. Alice nodded softly in response, lowering herself and pulling me down with her. I lay back on the grassy cliff, stretching my arms out beside me. Without hesitation, Alice cuddled against me, burying her face in the crook of my neck.

I leaned my head against hers and reached my arm around her to rub her shoulder through the thin material of her jacket. Alice purred contentedly against me, moving herself impossibly closer. I turned my head and buried my nose in her hair, inhaling her intoxicating scent deeply. Closing my eyes, I kissed her head softly before turning back and staring up at the cloudy sky.

We lay there together for what could have been hours our possibly days. Time didn't seem to matter when it came to Alice. Nothing seemed to matter when it came to Alice, actually. All that mattered was her and whether or not she was happy. And, as we lay there cuddled together, I could sense that she was happy, and that made me happier than I ever imagined someone else's happiness ever would.

Admittedly, I didn't want to break the sereneness of the moment. It was honestly the last thing that I wanted to do. But Alice's reaction to Daniel had been on my mind all day and I couldn't seem to push it aside. So, grudgingly, I started the conversation.

"May I ask you something?" I asked gently, running my fingers up Alice's arm. I felt her nod against me and continued. "Today? With Daniel?" I knew that she'd know what I was asking, so I didn't bother elaborating any more.

Alice sighed and her cold breath danced across my neck and collarbone, sending a welcome cold chill down my spine.

"I just…" Alice began, trailing off as she searched for the right words to continue. "I guess it just started off as a bit of jealousy," she began again after a moment. "When he offered you that handkerchief… I don't know. He just seemed a bit too eager to help you." Alice snuggled closer to me, burying closer to my neck. She turned her head so that she was resting on my chest just below my collarbone. "Vampires are very territorial. We don't like sharing, and we don't like when other people get too friendly with our mates. You could say that we would actually rather be locked away with our mates, never to see anyone else again."

The idea of that was actually a bit alluring, but I didn't vocalize my thoughts on the matter. I let Alice continue, knowing that she had more to say about what had happened.

"So when Daniel showed up, obviously more interested in you than as just a friend, I got a bit protective and possessive. I'm sorry…" Alice whispered out the last part, turning her head so she could look at me, her apology reflected in her eyes. I smiled softly at her in response, leaning down to kiss her gently. With a brief smile, Alice resettled herself on me.

A moment of silence past in which I assume Alice was gathering her thoughts again.

"But then he kept showing up. Him being in every class with us didn't really help the territorial instincts that kept flaring up in me. Every time he looked at you, I had to fight the urge to punch him… or worse." I could hear the smirk in her voice and knew instantly that she really wouldn't have been very sorry for hitting the boy. I chuckled at the realization and heard Alice giggle softly before she hugged me to her tighter.

Alice continued after she got her giggling under control.

"And when he intruded on our table at lunch, it was pretty much over for me. I couldn't stand him any longer and his obvious ignoring of our relationship was infuriating to say the least. So my more… primal instincts kicked in and I had to mark my territory, so to speak. Not that you're an object to own, but…" Alice stopped for a moment before gripping me to her again. "But you're mine. No one else can have you." Her voice had gotten lower and had a growl in it. And I'll be damned if I didn't admit that it was the sexiest thing I had ever heard.

"So…" I began. Alice hummed in acknowledgement as she loosened her grip a bit and relaxed against me once again. Using her relaxed state to my advantage, I quickly rolled us over so that I was hovering above her as she lay flat on the ground below us. Alice's eyebrows rose in surprise as she lay under me. "So, you've marked your territory." Alice nodded hesitantly, an obvious curiosity in her eyes.

I lowered my head so that my lips were ghosting across the skin of her neck as I spoke. "Now it's my turn." Alice growled lightly at hearing that and reached her arms around me, pulling me flush against her. I began to nibble on her neck, though I knew I couldn't actually leave a mark or anything of the sort.

Alice purred under me. Her fingers were running lightly up and down my back, tracing nonsensical designs into my skin.

Slowly, I made my way up her neck and to her ear, biting softly on her earlobe before tracing a line of kisses across her jawbone, finally ending right below her lips. Alice's eyes met mine in a silent challenge. I could hear her voice in my mind as if she had said the words out loud: _I dare you_.

And I did. I was never really one to ever back down from a dare.

I captured her lips hungrily with my own, letting all of the passion that was building in me out in that moment.

Alice groaned into my mouth as I ran my tongue along her bottom lip, asking for entrance. When she opened for me, I instantly began my exploration.

I had learned from experience that a vampire's fangs were super sensitive and any kind of simulation caused almost instant arousal. I used this knowledge to my advantage now.

Gently, I ran my tongue along one of her fangs, careful to not let the sharp canine draw blood. Alice again moaned into my mouth as she moved her hips up against my own. I returned the motion, grinding into my vampire.

Alice's hands moved up my back and tangled in my hair, pulling me ever closer to her. I let my tongue run across her other fang in response, grinning against her mouth when her hips rose to meet mine once again as a moan fell from her lips.

Pulling away to catch my breath, I began to trail light kisses down Alice's throat and to her collarbone. I bit down on that spot as my hands dipped under the bottom of her shirt. Lightly, I pushed my hands up, exploring territory that had yet to be seen. Alice shivered against me, and I knew that it wasn't because of the cool air coming from the ocean just yards from us.

When I glanced up at Alice's face, I saw that her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly agape. She was breathing heavily, every few breaths coming out as a soft moan.

Feeling much braver than I ever had before, and being reassured by the look on Alice's face, I pulled my hands back down to the hem of her shirt and began to drag it up her body. I studied her features for any sign of hesitation or disagreement, but found none, so I continued slowly.

It wasn't until I had gotten her shirt to right below her chest that she grasped my wrists and stopped me. Her eyes opened slowly and she met my gaze with regret shining in her eyes.

"Bella, I—" I shook my head, smiling softly up at her before removing my hands and rolling off of her to lay in my original position, staring up at the sky.

"It's alright. I understand," I said, turning my head to face Alice. She began shaking her head adamantly before righting her shirt and rolling to her side, leaning on her elbow so that she was looking down at me.

"No Bella, I don't think you do. I'm not rejecting you. I just… There's a point of no return when it comes to that, and we were very close to crossing that line just then. And when it comes to vampires… The first time shouldn't be stopped." Alice brushed a stray hair behind my ear. "If we had continued much further, I wouldn't have been able to stop myself." Alice's voice became husky as she leaned closer to me, her lips hovering above my own. "And, trust me, I wanted to keep going."

I kissed her lightly before pulling back with a grin. "Then you had better stop talking like that or we'll be crossing that line sooner rather than later."

Alice laughed and fell on me softly, cuddling into me again so that we were in the same position as when we first lay down.

A silence fell over us once again, but it was completely comfortable and full of promise.

The sun began to set, and the view from the cliff was fantastic. We both lay watching it, me holding Alice to me and Alice curling up against me.

When the sun had finally set, Alice spoke.

"We should probably be heading back soon. Everyone's probably wondering where we ran off to." Her voice was reluctant, and I sympathized with the emotion. But we got up, walking slowly to the truck.

I grabbed Alice's hand when we were about half way there, the light from the full moon setting her features aglow. Alice looked back at me questioningly. I grinned innocently, drawing her closer to me.

"So, should I expect the marking of territory every day from now on?"

Alice's laugh rang out in the clear night, echoing around us and filling the air with the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

**A/N: And that's the end of that one. I thought I'd throw in a quick little fluff/teaser for ya'll before things got intense. And things are about to get intense within the next few chapters. The story is about to come to the climax, and the tension's building and I can feel it and just AHHH. It's going to be epic… hopefully.**

**Anywho, please leave you comments/questions/complaints/reviews. They are greatly loved and they really do inspire me to write more. I'm going to try to update this soon, but midterms are coming up for some of my classes, and I really need to start working on studying for those. So it may be a bit before I do actually get a chance to update.**

**On a side note, there's this really great story called **_**My Piece of the Pie**_** by SaralieMcCarthy-Cullen. It's really good, but she's probably going to stop writing it because she's not getting many reviews. It is smutty in some parts, but it's still a good plot and all. I want to know how it ends, so if you could go check it out, it would be appreciated by me. Just leave a comment like "Keep writing" or something. And, selfish reasons aside, a writer really shouldn't feel like their work isn't appreciated. So yeah, this writer deserves more reviews and what-not, but isn't getting them. Alright, end side note.**

**That's all for this one. Like I said, I'll hopefully update soon, but I'm not sure when I'll get a chance. Just stick with me, please. I promise that I'll work on it whenever I get a chance to.**

'**Til next time! ^-^**


	26. Time For A Change

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry this one took so long to get up. I'm coming up on finals this week and the following week, so I've been working my butt off for those. And I just got a new job recently, which has been taking up most of my free time. **

**FrenchJuliett: Thank you so much! Hearing reviews like that really make writing this worthwhile. I'm so glad that I could make you like Twilight. Again, thank you. That really made my day.**

**AliceandBellaforever: Alice's visions have been out of wack in this story. So no, she wouldn't have necessarily seen Bella's decision.**

**xWaitForTheSparkx: Thanks so much! And welcome to the FA world. Great to have you ^_^**

**Invak: Maybe you should just take over this story. You have so many good ideas. Hahaha. But you're actually semi-on the right track. So you're not bad at directions at all.**

**Alright. I'll stop replying to reviews now and let ya'll get to the story. Thanks for all of those reviews, though. I feel horrible about not updating sooner, but life does tend to get in the way. I hope this will satisfy your reading want for at least a little bit.**

**As usual, Twilight and all of its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer, not myself. Any other characters and the plot of this story do belong to me, so please respect that.**

The weekend came much faster than I thought it would. Between worrying about Alice flipping out on Daniel and upcoming exams, I didn't have much time to be bored, and time seemed to fly.

Alice had finally convinced me earlier in the week that it would be easier if I just moved in with them, seeing as I was over at their house most of the time anyway. So, after very little debate from me, Alice arranged for Carlisle to call social services to let them know what was happening. I'm not sure how he got them to agree to the new living arrangements so easily, but I wasn't about to argue.

Today was moving-out day. Alice and I had spent all night repacking all of my stuff into boxes and preparing for the big move.

Alice had just driven back to her (our) house with some boxes in her Porsche, and probably wouldn't be back for at least half an hour. I was dutifully bringing more boxes out and packing them into the bed of my tuck, trying my best to secure them in so that they wouldn't fly out during the drive.

As I dropped another box onto the bed, I heard the rumbling of a motorcycle coming down the road. Thinking nothing of it, I climbed into the bed of the truck and continued to wrestle with the box, trying to get it to fit in the last bit of empty space.

The rumbling stopped when it was at its loudest behind me, and I turned to see why whoever was driving it had stopped.

I froze in place, half bent over the box, when I realized who was standing behind me.

"Jake?" I choked out. I hadn't expected to see him again any time soon, especially not after our last run in.

Jacob leaned against his bike, arms stiff at his side and fists clenched, glaring down at the ground.

An awkward silence came over us. After a moment, I righted myself and hopped down from my truck to face my best friend.

The silence continued.

Finally, Jake cleared his throat and pushed off of his bike. He took a step toward me before deciding against it and stepping back again. He repeated this again before decided to just remain where he was.

"I'm sorry," he finally blurted out. I rolled my eyes and he hurried to continue. "Bella, just listen to me. I'm sorry that I over reacted. But, it's not really my fault. Well, it is, but it's not at the same time. I just… it's instinct. It took over, and I was already frustrated with the leech—"

"Alice," I cut in, crossing my arms and standing up straighter. "Her name is Alice. She's not a leech. And she's the one that you should be apologizing to."

Jake rubbed one of his huge hands down his face with a groan. "Be reasonable."

"Excuse me?" I asked, voice hard.

"Being around that—_Alice_," he said her name as if it was a particularly nasty word, "for more than any time, really, isn't going to happen. So be mature and just accept my apology so that we can move on."

His matter-of-fact tone was really starting to piss me off. He had no right to tell me what to do, and I told him as much.

"You really have no right to demand anything of me, _Jacob_. And I'd reconsider who's being immature if I were you." I put as much disgust into his name as he put into Alice's. I opened my mouth to continue, but he cut me off before I could get a word in.

"You know what? Whatever. I thought that maybe we could get over this, but I guess not. It's just not possible for a leech lover and a werewolf to be friends." He turned to get back on his bike. "I'm out." With that, he climbed on and started the engine before racing down the road and out of sight.

I was still fuming when I turned back to my truck, and I pushed hard against the box I had been putting in before. Unfortunately, this proved to be too much for the old, beat-up cardboard box, and the contents fell out as the sides gave way.

"Damn it!" I yelled, clenching my hair in my fists before dropping to the ground to start picking up the mess of assorted items.

A pair of boots came into view, and thinking that it was Jacob again, I spoke angrily.

"You had better leave. I don't want to speak to you and if Alice sees you here, she's going to flip a shit. So just go." The responding chuckle was not from my ex-best friend.

I looked up, shocked as Daniel bent down to help me with my things.

"Well, I don't doubt Alice 'flipping a shit', but I didn't think that you thought that badly of me," he said, a smirk on his face as he handed me a CD.

Coming to my senses, I took the CD and stood up quickly, placing it along with the rest of the previous contents of the box in the bed of my truck.

"I don't think you should be here," I said, turning to face Daniel again. "What _are_ you doing here, anyway?"

Daniel continued to smile warmly at me as he stood. He was slightly taller than me, and I had to look up to see his eyes.

"I was just in the neighborhood, and I saw you having some trouble with all this. I didn't think helping out would be taken so harshly." I blushed, remembering my first reaction to Daniel's arrival, and turned back to close the hatch of the truck. The loose stuff would move around, but I couldn't care less at the moment.

"Yeah, well, that's taken care of now. I don't want to take up any more of your time, and I need to get back to packing." I moved to head back into my house, but Daniel stepped in front of me.

"Are you moving?" He asked, smile replaced with a look of curiosity. I nodded in response, and tried to move around him. Again, he moved to block me. "Where to?"

"That is none of your business." I felt a cool arm move around my waist as Alice's answered him. I couldn't help but sigh in relief that she had finally made it back. It was unfortunate for Daniel, though.

Daniel 'tsk'ed and stepped away from us, almost as if he was annoyed by Alice's presence, which wouldn't really surprise me.

"Well then Bella, I see that you no loner need my assistance." He reached for my hand and kissed the back of it before I had time to react. "I'll be seeing you," he concluded with a wink before hurriedly walking away.

Alice stood growling next to me, clearly restraining herself from chasing Daniel down. I kissed her on the cheek quickly, trying to draw her attention away from the, now long gone, nuisance.

"Hey, baby. I missed you," I said, turning to wrap my arms around Alice's waist. Alice continued to glare after Daniel, even though he was nowhere in sight.

"What was _he_ doing here?" she asked harshly. I cringed at her hard tone, before answering quickly.

"He was helping with a box that I broke. I told him to leave." Alice hummed before finally turning to look at me. Her expression quickly changed to a smile, though it didn't reach her eyes.

"Are you all ready to get out of here?" she asked me. I could tell she was still upset about the Daniel thing, so I shook my head.

"Nope."

Alice looked at me curiously, trying to figure out why I wasn't ready. "Did you forget something in the house?" she asked, confused.

"Nope."

"Then what is it?"

I leaned forward and kissed her softly, wrapping my arms more tightly around her waist and pulling her to me. When we separated, Alice smiled warmly at me, her smile finally reaching her eyes.

"Now I'm ready," I stated, untangling my arms from around her and moving to the drivers' side of my truck.

Alice quickly followed, jumping in beside me and reaching over to grab my hand.

"Let's get out of here," I said before pulling out of the driveway and onto the street.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

It didn't take long for me to get unpacked and moved into the Cullen home. Alice had already unpacked most of my stuff into her, well _our_, room, and we only had to unpack the boxes we were bringing over in my truck. And, with Alice being a vampire and everything, she took over most of that and everything was unpacked within minutes of arriving.

After we had finished unpacking, Alice and I laid on the bed, just relaxing for a bit. But, the quiet didn't last for long.

"BELLA!" Emmet's booming voice rang from downstairs and echoed through the entire house. I jumped in surprise as Alice giggled next to me.

"Relax, Bella. He just wants to give you your 'welcome to the family' present," she said calmly, sitting up next to me.

"Present?" I asked cautiously. Alice simply nodded before hopping off the bed and looking toward the door. Not five seconds later, the door swung open, nearly falling off the hinges.

"Bella!" Emmet yelled again. I could see Rosalie standing behind him, looking as bored as ever.

"I think she heard you the first time, Emmet," Rosalie said, rolling her eyes at her husband. Emmet shrugged in response before loping into the room and grabbing me off the bed, throwing me over his shoulder in the same moment.

"Emmet!" Alice yelled from the other side of the bed, both laughter and concern in her voice.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be careful with the _human_. Don't worry, sis," he said teasingly as he carried me out of the room.

"Em, you know I can walk, right?" I asked, laughing at his antics. I felt him shrug again before he answered.

"That would take too long. Plus, this is more fun, don't you think?" He asked, winking at me over his shoulder. I laughed in response, not even bothering to argue with the man.

I looked up from where I was hanging to see Alice following closely behind us, and a slightly amused Rosalie following behind her. Alice smiled softly at me, rolling her eyes at her brother before speeding up to walk beside us.

"You do realize that she isn't going to accept this easily, right?" Alice asked, speaking to Emmet. Again, Emmet shrugged, grin firmly in place, obviously not caring.

"Too bad. She'll get over it. And I know that she's going to love it," he responded, not bothered in the least.

"And we can't have a Cullen leaving this house in that _thing_," Rosalie said from behind us. I looked up to see her smiling slightly at the three of us.

"And, what _thing_ are you talking about, Rose? You had better not be talking about my truck. I love that truck," I said, crossing my arms the best that I could in my current position.

We had stopped beside the door to the garage, and I got a nervous feeling that whatever was behind that door would be expensive and unnecessary.

Rose shrugged at me before walking ahead of us and into the garage. She closed the door before I could see in.

Finally, Emmet put me down so that I was standing beside him and Alice.

Alice placed her hand in mine once I was settled.

"And, without further ado… Drum roll please!" Emmet bellowed out, stretching his arms out to his sides and turning to the door. Without waiting for any sort of drum roll at all, Emmet flung the door open and pushed Alice and I inside.

It took me a moment to realize what I was supposed to be seeing. There were many cars in the garage, as every member of the family had at least one mode of transportation. As I glanced around the garage, my eyes finally settled on something that had never been there before.

Resting at the furthest end of the garage sat a brand new, jet-black, Ducati Monster 696.

"You have got to be kidding me…" I said, slightly breathless as I moved closer to the bike dragging Alice behind me.

"Not at all, little sis!" Emmet said, running over to the bike and patting its seat. "This baby is all yours. I know Ali-cat didn't really like the idea, but she'll always be with you when you ride it, I'm sure. So you'll always be safe. Right, Al?" he asked, looking behind me at Alice.

I turned as well to see her roll her eyes.

"Yeah, Em. I'll be there, too," she answered, a chuckle in her voice.

"Why don't you go for a ride?" Rosalie asked from behind us. I hadn't seen her when we entered, but looking around, I found her leaning against her candy apple convertible in the corner. "The helmets are right beside it." She pointed at the ground beside the bike where two helmets were laying side by side. "And don't worry about your truck. It's still outside," she said, a slight disgust directed toward my truck.

I nodded speechlessly before wandering over to my new bike and running my hand across the seat.

"This is really mine?" I asked, turning to look at the three vampires standing in the room. Each of them nodded at me, smiles on their faces.

Completely uncharacteristic of me, I squeaked and ran over to Emmet, throwing my arms around his huge neck, squeezing him to me. I heard Alice and Rosalie both chuckle at my expression of thanks.

When I let go and dropped back down to the floor, I turned to Alice and dragged her over to my bike. I then quickly picked up both helmets and handed one to her, putting the other one on myself before swinging my leg over the bike. The key was already in the ignition, so I turned it, listening to the purr of the engine contentedly.

I felt cool arms wrap around my waist before Alice spoke.

"Ready when you are, babe," she said, leaning her chin on my shoulder and tightening her hold around me. I nodded, thanking Emmet silently in my head for getting me something that would require Alice to hold me like this every time we rode it.

I slowly pulled out of the garage, not wanting to wreck my bike on the easiest part of the drive, before lining up with the long driveway. With another squeeze from Alice, I shot off down the road, both my and Alice's laughter ringing out behind us.

**A/N: I know it's not the longest chapter ever, but at least it's a new chapter, right? Again, sorry it took so long to put up. I'm actually currently working on a book as well, so that's getting in the way along with work, school, and everything else. So if I don't update for a few weeks, please don't hate me. I'm not abandoning you all.**

**Thanks for sticking with me so far. **

'**Til next time! ^_^**


	27. A Quick Side Note Don't hate me

**A/N: PS! **

**Happy Mother's Day to all you Mothers out there. I hope you all have a flipping fantastic day. Or had one. Seeing as the day is almost over. Unless you're in a different time zone than I am. Then it may already be over or won't be over for a few hours…. So yeah. Sorry that this is now a new chapter and you all probably now hate me for that.**

**But I still love you all!**


	28. Whirlwind

**A/N: Not only do you probably hate me, but even I hate me. I think I have a problem. Every time I say that I'll update soon, I don't. So from now on, I won't say that I will be updating soon, and hopefully I'll actually become more motivated to update.**

**ANYWAY, I am sincerely sorry about the lateness of this update. And for the fact that it really isn't that long. But, it is what it is. **

**Trang-a-lang: Thanks so much. I'm sorry that you, like everyone else, had to wait so long for this update. But thank you for sticking with me.**

**Ra'iira The Fiend: I am very sorry for making you tear up. But, if it makes you feel any better, I almost made myself cry when writing that chapter as well. So you aren't alone.**

**Middie4ever: I'm sorry to say that you are not right. BUT, you will be finding out who/what he is in this chapter. So just hang in there a little bit longer.**

**Night3603: Thanks. I like that phrase a lot. **

**Siibi: Thank you so much! This is actually my very first story, so it's sort of a trial and error thing, but comments like yours makes it so worth it.**

**AliceandBellaforever: Thanks! And of course I can read some of your stories. I would be totally happy to.**

**Hankthefluuphiwaffle: One, your name rocks. Two, your review made me laugh. Thanks for that. ^_^**

**Now I'll let ya'll actually read what you came here for and I'll blabber more at the end of it.**

Third Person POV:

Watching and waiting. Watching and waiting.

It seemed to be all the ancient vampire did these days.

Coyle waited to be updated on what was happening down below while watching from afar. It wasn't an exciting existence, but it would do for now. He had to wait until the precise moment to strike. And strike he would.

"Bella's been moved into the Cullen home, sir," the young vampire said. It was lucky that the elder vampire had come across such a talented young lad, even if he was a human when he found him. The boy had grown on him in the time they had been together, becoming more and more useful, even if he had to manipulate the truth to get the young boy to trust him.

After all, he had been the one that isolated young Isabella from anyone she knew all those years ago. It had been a fun game for him, but he hadn't expected any survivors to last this long. And then the chivalrous Ryan came along and saved young Isabella from falling into the pit of despair that Coyle had expected. But that just wouldn't do for the ancient vampire. What he wanted always came to fruition in the end, even if he had to take a more roundabout way to get there.

And that is how his companion, Ryan Daniel Striker, came to be a vampire.

Coyle found the boy drunk one night after he had spent some time with Isabella. And, much to the ancient's surprise, the girl's savior had fallen in love with her. What a twist in the story. But he was already in his twenties, and humans did have a tendency to dote over such differences in age. So Coyle offered the boy a chance to win over the young Isabella. Make him immortal and freeze him at his present age, waiting for the girl to come of age and he could woo her. Little did he know, that chance would never really come for the love struck fool.

There were never any survivors after one of Coyle's games. And this Isabella was becoming a problem, what with her new vampire guards whom never seemed to leave her side. And with this new development, it would become increasingly hard to get Isabella away from her protector.

"The small one, the vampire that seems to have infatuated your young Bella, tell me about her," Coyle said smoothly after the long silence. Surprised by the request, Ryan stood motionless for a moment.

"Her name is Mary-Alice Cullen, and she is a seer, sir. She has convinced Bella that they are soul mates." Coyle chuckled at this, turning finally to face his young protégé.

"Oh, that won't do, will it Ryan? We must get this Mary-Alice away from Bella with enough time for you to convince her otherwise. That may be the opportune moment to do away with your illusion and show her your true self. It has done us well so far, but I don't believe you'll be able to gain the girl's trust unless she sees who you actually are, don't you agree?" Ryan nodded in agreement, letting his allusion slowly drift away to reveal the red-eyed vampire, which so looked like the human Ryan, that lay beneath.

"Why don't we start by getting their attention?" Coyle said as he watched Ryan become someone new.

Bella POV:

It is quite possible that one of my new favorite things to do is hop on my bike and take a ride with Alice.

Unfortunately, that isn't possible when Alice leaves to hunt.

"Ugh," I moaned out again as I sprawled out on the couch, bored out of my mind.

"Bella, dear, why don't you do something to make the time pass faster while Alice is away? Perhaps watch a movie?" Esme asked as she came out of the kitchen. Esme is the nicest person anyone could ever meet, and I would have loved to appease her. Unfortunately, I had tried to distract myself multiple times already and couldn't think of anything that would actually distract me enough to get time to pass any quicker for me.

"No thanks, Esme. I think I'll just sit here and—" My thought was cut off by my phone vibrating on the coffee table indicating a new text. I quickly flipped my phone open in the hopes that it was Alice saying she was finally on her way home.

_You shouldn't be lazing around so much, love. I haven't even been gone that long. –A._

I glared at the screen, frustrated that of all the times Alice's visions wanted to cooperate, it was when I was being a brooding, lovesick puppy.

_Not lazing around. Just waiting somewhat impatiently. –B._

_You are such a liar. –A._

_Am not._

_Are so._

_Am not._

_Are so._

_Whatever. Are you on your way home yet?_ I knew she'd be laughing at me by that point, and thus I sat pouting on the couch after I threw my phone down on my lap. It buzzed again quickly though, and I couldn't ignore it more than a second.

_Turn around._

As soon as I read the text, I flipped around on the couch to find my little vampire standing right behind me, arms crossed and a knowing smirk on her face.

"Alice!" I screamed, jumping off the couch and running to hug her. It wasn't that I needed her around all the time…. It just got really lonely without her.

Alice, laughing, picked me up and spun me around as I collided with her. When she put me back down, she brushed her lips against my own softly. We smiled at each other as we broke apart.

"I missed you to," she whispered against my lips. I pulled her to me tighter, not wanting to let go now that I finally had her back.

"Who said I missed you? I was doing perfectly fine on my own."

I could hear Esme's 'yeah right' and laugh from the kitchen even with my non-super hearing. Alice giggled as I glared toward the open kitchen door.

"Thanks a lot, Esme," I grumbled out. Alice ignored my sarcastic comment to her mother figure, and loosened her hold on me slightly.

"I'm sure you were, love. But if you didn't miss me, maybe next time I'll go a bit further and take my time. Perhaps a weekend trip" Alice paused, tapping her chin in mock thought. "I do like a good mountain lion."

"Don't you dare," I said with a glare and a light slap to her arm. It would hurt me more than her if I hit her any harder, and I wasn't fool enough to try.

Alice laughed at my obvious failure at pretending I didn't miss her. And what can I say? I think everyone misses Alice a little when she's gone.

Soft footsteps on the main stairs indicated that we were no longer alone.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but I would like to speak to the two of you if you don't mind," Carlisle said as he came down to the living room. Alice and I looked up to him, curious as to what he'd want to speak to us about.

Carlisle turned and walked back up to his office, fully expecting us to follow him, which we did dutifully.

When we arrived, Carlisle was already sitting at his desk, chin resting on his folded hands.

"What's the matter, Carlisle?" Alice asked as she pulled me to a seat and sat on my lap. Carlisle smiled while Alice got comfortable and leaned back against me.

"Nothing is the matter, Alice. I just wanted to discuss what you told me Bella and you have been discussing." Alice's face lightened with recognition, but I was still left in the dark.

"Care to elaborate a little on that?" I asked, wrapping my arms around my pixie.

"Simply put, your mortality," Carlisle answered nonchalantly and with a slight shrug as if it was the most normal topic in the world.

I looked at Carlisle questioningly, readying myself to defend my decision if he were to say I shouldn't go through with it. "What about it?"

Alice and I had never really discussed how the rest of the family would feel about me joining them in their immortality, but I had always figured that they would be okay with it. Thinking on it now, it would probably be wise of me to discus it with everyone.

Carlisle smiled warmly at me before he leaned back in his chair, calming me slightly.

"It's nothing bad, Bella. You can relax. I simply wanted to discuss the basics, such as who would change you, when you would be changed, and what we need to do to prepare for such a big step."

"Oh. Okay then." I relaxed a little and leaned against Alice, who had yet to add anything to the conversation since she learned what it was about. When I peaked up at her, she had a slight frown on her face. "Alice?" I asked as I pulled her closer to me, worry thick in my voice.

She didn't answer me, but rather spoke directly to Carlisle.

"I'd like to be the one to do it. But I don't think I…" Alice trailed of and looked back at me, sadness in her eyes. I tried to tell her as best I could silently that everything would be okay. She turned back to Carlisle minutes later. "I'm afraid I won't be able to stop, Carlisle."

Carlisle smiled his fatherly smile at her as he rose from his seat and came around to squat in front of us.

He placed his hand on Alice's knee before speaking. "Alice. You are incredibly brave, incredibly strong, and incredibly passionate. There is no way that you would not be able to stop." I nodded vehemently and tightened my hold around Alice's waist. Unfortunately, she still looked doubtful.

"I don't… I still want you to train me for a while. I don't want to take any risks with this. And Bella should finish school anyway, before the change. Otherwise there would be questions."

Carlisle nodded his agreement before standing up. "I agree. It wouldn't be wise for you to just disappear, Bella. Too many issues could come from that. So, shall we set the date to after graduation?" Carlisle looked from me to Alice calmly, silently letting us know that the decision was truly up to us.

"Sounds fine to me," I answered quickly, already getting excited by the idea of becoming a vampire.

Alice was a little more hesitant.

"Do you really think that will be enough time to train me? It's barely a month away." Alice glanced up to Carlisle before bowing her head to continue to stare at the floor, as if it had all of the answers for her. Carlisle merely smiled.

"Ali," I addressed her, turning her chin so that she was looking at me when she didn't do it herself. "Mary-Alice Cullen. Listen to me." I continued only when she looked me in the eyes. "I trust you. I trust you with everything in me, and I know you'll be more than ready by then. Honestly, I think you could do it now, but I won't push you." Alice tried to interrupt, but I pressed my finger to her lips to silence her. "No. Hon, I trust you and I love you. Nothing will change that."

Alice reached her hand up to twine her fingers with mine that were still pressed against her lips. She stared into my eyes for another few moments before letting out a long sigh and turning to Carlisle.

"When do we start?"

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my lips, but I pressed my mouth against Alice's shoulder to try to hide it.

Before Carlisle could answer her, Alice became stiff in my arms.

The vision only lasted seconds, but right after she came out of it, Edward was bursting into the room. Alice jumped out of my lap and turned to face him, fear etched onto her face. As I turned to look at Edward, I saw that he looked more scared than I had ever seen him before.

"When?" he asked, never taking his eyes off of Alice.

"Now," she replied, apparently still in shock from whatever she had seen.

Edward collapsed against the wall he was closest to before sliding down to the floor in a heap. I jumped to my feet not knowing what else to do.

"Alice?" I asked. When I didn't get a response I turned to the only other person in the room that could have known what was going on. "Edward?" When he only continued to sit on the floor, shaking his head and repeating 'no', I moved to stand in front of Alice and placed my hands on either side of her face, getting her to look at me. "Alice. What's going on?"

Alice didn't answer me, though. My answer came from the boy sitting against the wall who never looked younger or more afraid than he did in that moment.

"Jasper…"

**A/N: Duhn, duhn, DUHHNNNN. What's happened to Jasper? Is he okay? Will Edward FINALLY grow a pair and man up? The world may never know… Just kidding. Ya'll will know in the next chapter. **

**Okay now, I need to clear some air here. I've been getting a lot of comments and reviews about how everyone hates Daniel. And now that you all know who he is, I can say this without giving anything away: Daniel/Ryan is really not supposed to be hated. He's just being misled by a bad vamp who uses anyone and everyone he can to get his way. But our young Daniel/Ryan doesn't know that at the moment. But he's not supposed to be super annoying, if that makes sense. He's just supposed to be sort of infatuated with Bella.**

**That's enough with that rant now. **

**Again, I am sincerely sorry that it's taken me so long to update this story. I'm getting really bad at that. And I don't want to make excuses, but just so you know about **_**why**_** I've been slacking, it's because of two things, really. One, I'm working a lot more now trying to save up money for the school year. Two, I'm actually working on a book. It's in its very early stages as of right now, but I have been working on that as well. Which is another reason why I've put Wounded Cry (my other story for those of you who haven't started reading it… which you should do… because I love readers… end plug now) on hold for the time being. **

**So there's the update. I'm not making any promises, but I'm really hoping to update this a lot sooner this time. I have loads of ideas for the next chapter, and I'm excited to write it, so that will hopefully get me into actually writing it.**

**But 'til next time! ^_^**


	29. Thrown Into Action

**A/N: So y'all should be proud. I actually updated sooner than a month later. AND, it isn't some short, filler chapter or anything. I'm proud. Not gonna lie. Haha.**

**Yokai-Kitsune-Kyuubi: I would love to tell all about my book, but then I'd be giving it away and that could end badly. So I'm not going to do that. Sorry. lol. Thanks for asking, though. ^_^**

**Green eyed typhoon: Thanks so much! And your review didn't seem disjointed at all. **

**Candyhunter: Welcome to the FA universe, then! Thanks for joining us and I'm glad you're here. But yeah, Dan as Ryan was the plan all along. Though, when people started suggesting that he was a child of the moon, I was really tempted to go that route, not even going to lie.**

**DerFlash: You are amazing. I loved all of your reviews. They're actually really helpful, so thanks for that. **

**Alright, I know you're all here for the story, so here you go. Hope you enjoy it. ^_^**

All thoughts having to do with my transformation disappeared from our minds, as we stood frozen on the spot. It took what seemed like hours before Carlisle finally sprung into motion.

"Everyone, into my office. Now," he spoke calmly, the only indication of his worry being the crease in his brow. "Alice, where is Jasper?"

"I… I don't…" Alice seemed unable to complete her thought as she stared straight ahead of her, trying to get another vision.

"He went hunting. He said that he wanted to go up to the mountains and get away for a few hours," Rosalie explained as she walked into the room, moving to hug Alice.

Seeing Rosalie comforting Alice finally drew me out of my shock and I stood, walking over to the two. Without so much as looking at me, Alice took my hand in hers and drew me closer to her side. Rosalie didn't seem to mind, and pulled us both to her.

Carlisle nodded at Rosalie's revelation as he watched his wife walk to him.

"It'll be okay," I heard him whisper to her before he spoke to everyone in the room. "We need to get moving. Emmett, go get your jeep and pull it out front. Esme, I want you to stay here just in case he manages to get home. Alice and Rosalie, you'll ride with Emmett while Edward and I run ahead." He moved over to Edward and knelt down next to him. "Edward, I know this is hard for you, but I need you to get up and come with me. For Jasper."

Edward looked up and nodded slowly before standing and exiting the room. Carlisle watched as his son left before turning to face those of us who were left in the room.

He looked straight as Esme with a soft smile on his face.

"It'll be okay," he said before exiting the room and going after Edward.

Rosalie left after him, followed by Esme, giving Alice and I a moment alone.

"Can I—" I didn't get to finish my question.

"No. Absolutely not. This is way too dangerous for you to be coming along with us. Please, just stay here with Esme and wait for us to get back. We won't be too long."

I looked down and stared at the floor, pouting to myself. Alice grasped my chin and made me look at her.

"I promise we'll be okay. Don't worry. We'll be back before you know it," she comforted with a soft smile. I still didn't want to let her go, but I knew that I would have to. With a reluctant sigh, I let Alice's hand go and moved away from her.

"Go. Be safe."

Alice smiled at me before giving me a swift kiss and leaving the room at vampire speed.

I moved to look out the window and watched as Emmett's jeep disappeared from view.

Not knowing what else to do, I went to Alice's and my room and lay down on the bed, inhaling her scent.

**APOV:**

By the time I got out of the house, Rosalie and Emmett were already waiting in the Jeep that Emmett had pulled out of the garage. I jumped in the back seat and Emmett took off, not wasting any time.

"Edward and Carlisle?" I asked, knowing that Rose and Emmet would know what I was asking.

"They're already on their way there. Edward saw where Jasper was in your mind, so he'll be able to lead them there directly. I'm guessing that Carlisle wanted us to take the Jeep to drive Jasper back if he's in really bad shape," Rosalie answered, staring out the passenger side window as Emmett sped ahead.

I nodded, though I knew they couldn't see me.

"What happened to him, Ali?" Emmett finally asked as we drove along, his voice soft.

I closed my eyes and rested my head back on the headrest, bringing back the vision.

"He was attacked. It looks like another vampire, but I really can't be sure. I didn't get a good look at him. But whoever it was caught Jasper by surprise." Both Emmett and Rose looked back at me at that. "I know. I doubted it at first, too. I don't know how whoever it was did it, but they jumped Jasper and attacked him. He didn't have enough time to defend himself." I took an unnecessary breath. "The last thing I saw was Jasper laying on the ground, not moving."

"Is he…?" Emmett drifted off, none of us wanting to say what could very possibly be what we would find.

I stayed quiet in the back seat, choosing to look out the window and not answer him. Emmett took this as answer enough and sped up, trying to get to Jasper faster.

**EPOV:**

_Not Jasper. Not Jasper. Not Jasper. _I chanted continuously to myself as Carlisle and I ran to where I saw Jasper laying.

I couldn't believe that I was stupid enough to let him go hunting alone. No one should have been able to catch him off guard, though. Jasper was the most militaristic being I had ever met, and he never lost his focus.

The trees swept past us as we ran as fast as we could. I had to remind myself to slow down a few times to keep pace with Carlisle, though it was increasingly frustrating. I just wanted to get to Jasper.

If we didn't get to him in time, I would never forgive myself. I had so much to tell him; so much that I had been afraid to confess before. I was foolish.

I launched myself over a lake, followed quickly by Carlisle. We were getting closer. I could smell Jaspers scent much more strongly.

"We're close," Carlisle stated the obvious, probably to calm himself some.

I picked up my pace, not caring anymore if I left Carlisle behind. We were close enough that he would be able to find the rest of the way easily now.

Finally, _finally_, I broke into a clearing and saw Jasper lying in the middle of the field, motionless.

Fear gripped my heart as I sprinted toward him before dropping to my knees beside him. I rolled him over so that he was lying on his back and rested his head in my lap.

"Jasper? Jasper, please speak to me."

He didn't respond. It was rare that vampires went into this comatose state, but it wasn't unheard of. It was the equivalent of a human going into a coma, though for vampires it didn't usually last as long. It was a mental defense, so that when and if a vampire was ripped apart, they wouldn't feel it anymore. Meaning that Jasper was incredibly close to being taken from this world.

"Carlisle!" I yelled, urging him to hurry up as he entered the field. He was by my side less than a heartbeat later.

"He's unconscious," Carlisle stated calmly as he took in his son's appearance.

I had to struggle not to yell at my father figure for stating the obvious once again. When he looked up at me, he must have been able to tell my frustration because he moved on quickly, checking over Jasper.

"_It's going to be okay, Edward. It would take a lot more than this to lose him,"_ Carlisle thought to me, not pausing in his work.

I nodded in understanding, though his words did little to calm my nerves.

_Jasper, please. Please wake up._

**APOV:**

Even in Emmett's Jeep, we could only drive so far before we had to abandon it and run instead. But it was good that we had it close by.

Rosalie, Emmett and I made it to the clearing shortly after we left the Jeep. Running was always faster than driving, but not knowing exactly what shape Jasper was in, we couldn't risk running him all the way back.

Carlisle looked up to us as we came into view. He met each of our eyes before going back to checking over Jasper.

Edward's eyes never left Jasper's face.

We all moved swiftly over to the three, worried but hopeful.

"Emmett and Rose, see if you can find the scent of whoever did this. Scout the area and come back." Carlisle looked up as he said this, staring intently at Rose and Emmett. "Even if you find his trail, do not chase him. You'll need backup if whoever did this was able to get the upper hand on Jasper."

Everyone knew that Emmett had the tendency to get ahead of himself and think that he's invincible, so it was quite necessary for Carlisle to make this point.

Without another word, Emmett and Rose disappeared into the forest, doing as they were told.

I knelt down beside Edward and wrapped an arm around him

_He is going to be okay, Edward_, I thought to him. He finally looked up from Jasper to meet my eyes with a sad, resigned look.

"I know you haven't had a vision of that, Alice. But thank you," he said before turning back to Jasper.

He put his hand gently on Jasper's hair, combing his fingers through it and pushing stray strands out of Jazz's face.

Almost as if Edward's touch had been a call to him, Jasper began to awaken when Edward dragged his fingers lightly down his cheek.

He shook his head as he reached his hand up to grip his hair. When he opened his eyes, Edward gripped his hand and leaned further over him, likely making it so that his face was all that Jasper could see.

"Jasper…" Edward whispered before leaning over and hugging Jazz to him.

Carlisle stood then, and gestured for me to follow him to the edge of the clearing, giving the two privacy, though we could still hear anything they said.

"When Rose and Emmett get back, I want you, Emmett and I to go after the scent, if they find one. Rose will go back with Edward and Jasper and join us afterward. But by the amount of time they're taking, I doubt that they've found anything." Carlisle ran a hand through his now wind tossed hair. "We need to find out what happened, but I don't think Jasper is really in any shape to tell us right now."

We both looked over to Jasper and Edward, who had yet to move from their position.

In the next moment, two things happened at the same time. One, Rosalie and Emmett burst through the tree line, calling out that they didn't find anything. And two, Edward leaned down and kissed Jasper full on the lips.

Though we all wanted to give them their privacy, the incredibly forward action of our usually reserved brother caused us all to stare at the two as their exchange continued.

Finally we all reacted, Carlisle and Rose simply smiling, Emmet getting his huge goofy grin and yelling out "Finally!" and me clapping for them.

Edward and Jasper pulled apart, both laughing at our reactions.

As Edward helped Jasper to stand and wrapped his arm around his torso to hold him up, the look on both of their faces was probably the happiest that any of us had ever seen them.

**BPOV:**

Esme came to check on me every few minutes while the rest of the family was gone. I think that she was trying to hide how worried she was by taking care of someone else, and it would have been perfectly fine if her checking on me didn't actually make me worry more than I already was. The constant reminder that Alice was gone and possibly in very real danger wasn't helping my nerves at all.

"Bella?" Esme asked as she again peaked her head into our room.

"Still okay," I replied without looking up at her. I was laying face down on our bed, my face squished into the pillow, so it was amazing in itself that she understood me.

Esme sighed and walked further into the room. I felt her weight make the bed sink a little as she sat down on the end. When I turned my head to look at her, her face looked drawn, and it was very obvious that she was worried.

Before she was able to say anything, we heard the front door open and close, followed by Carlisle calling out for his wife. She quickly jumped off the bed and made for the door, only turning back to give me an apologetic smile for her leaving. But if I had been able to move as fast as she did, I would have done the same thing.

I did, however, get up as quickly as I could to go see what had actually happened.

As I made my way down the stairs, I heard Alice call my name cheerily, causing me to run down the stairs even faster.

When I reached the bottom of the stairwell, I ran into Alice, who was waiting for me with her arms spread wide.

I collided with her, and if she hadn't have had vampire strength, I was certain that I would have made her topple over.

Alice giggled at me before pulling back a little and kissing me lightly.

"I missed you too," she whispered after we pulled apart. I smiled at her before I looked around the room to see that everyone else was still standing there as well.

Carlisle cleared his throat before speaking up.

"Why don't we move into the living room so that Jasper can tell us what happened?"

And the tension that had dissipated by our reunion came back full force.

**A/N: So there you have it, the next chapter in FA. Hope you all liked it. I have been more inclined to write recently, but whether or not I'll have time to do so is a different story all together. I will try, though.**

**Thank you all for your reviews. They're all very welcomed.**

'**Til next time! ^_^**


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